Your Circle of Control
Hi, I'm Liz Moser, and I'm a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach.
Over the past week, I temporarily closed my brick and mortar business and laid off my employees. Meetings and appointments, I was looking forward to were canceled. My health club closed. Supermarket shelves were bare. The Coronavirus is spreading in my state, our country, and the world. People are sick, and some are dying.
And…
All of that was out of my control.
On the other hand:
I’m in control of:
Who we allow in our home
How often and where I go if I choose to leave my home
What and how much media and news I consume. What is the line for me between staying informed and overconsuming to the point of increasing my anxiety?
My daily habitual actions: my nutrition, exercise and sleep routine
And, which new habits I incorporate with the extra time I’m experiencing
Whether you are temporarily laid off from work, working from home, continuing to commute to work or maybe you’re busier than ever because you are a medical professional, a first responder, or your kids are home from school; I invite you to take out a piece of paper draw a circle on it.
Then maybe take a deep breath and recite out loud or quietly in your mind the Serenity Prayer perhaps reframe it as the serenity affirmation or serenity mantra:
God (or higher power or my wise inner knowing),
grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
And then jot down everything you can control on the inside of the circle and that which you can’t control on the outside.
Possible things you wrote on the outside of your circle of control. Items that are out of your control:
How long your kids are home from school.
When or if your job reopens.
When a specific product you need or want will be available to you.
Development of a vaccine to cure the virus.
And here are some possibilities for inside your circle; what’s in your control:
What you eat and drink (depending on availability.)
What and how much media/screen time you consume.
What you read.
How much you move your body.
How you stay connected to friends and family: ZOOM, Facebook Video, Phone, text, social media
How you help others: single friends, elderly neighbors or parents.
Your sleep schedule (7-8 hours per night.)
Your creative pursuits: writing, art, music.
Entertainment activities: Puzzles, reading, movies
These are uncertain times. Many things are out of our control, and by dwelling on them, we only increase our anxiety and stress, which negatively impacts our immune systems. The last thing we want! I invite you to stay informed while not anxiously consuming more and more information.
Instead, I encourage you to focus on what’s inside the circle. That’s where we have control over the actions that improve our physical, mental, and spiritual health.
No matter who is counting on you during this time, you owe it to them to be at your most centered, most grounded, and healthiest, and much of that is in your control. Remember to put your oxygen mask on first!
I ponder and write a lot about habits: creating habits, maintaining habits, and thoughtfully choosing which habits to add or subtract from your life. Now during this worldwide crisis, while your family, friends, and community are counting on you, your daily habits are more important than ever.
Many of the habits we label as ‘good’ such as eating plenty of fruits and veggies, exercising, limiting or abstaining from alcohol, 7-8 hours of sleep per night, also increase our immunity to disease while lowering our stress.
Now, more than ever, it’s essential to foster the habits that increase our vitality and lift our spirits and mood and let go of the practices that sap our energy. So, I invite you to stay informed and make the best decisions for your health and safety and the health and safety of your family.
Then turn your focus to the activities that you can control, nurturing the habits that create calm, peace, and vitality and gently letting go of or limiting the ones that sap your energy and health.
And, consider adding a daily recitation of the serenity prayer to remind you of your commitment to let go of the many potentially stressful even frightening things are out of our control while staying present to the many activities in your control that you can change.
I’m Liz Moser, a Mayo Clinic Certified Wellness Coach, thanks for watching this video. If you have any questions about this video, or if you have any questions about health and wellness or wellness coaching with me, please contact me through my website at lizmosercoaching.com
Bye for now! Liz
