“Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.” Viktor Frankl
In today’s Cup of Calm, we spoke about taking agency this week. That – despite all the ups and downs of a changing world we can choose how we show-up. We can understand what matters to us – and choose our approach to the day.
Here are some of the beautiful choices people made today:
I choose to be happy I choose to be kind and pause before responding I choose to be grounded I choose balance I choose to create memories with family I choose to prioritise self-care I choose to spring clean my mind so I can make space for other things I choose to nourish myself and others. I choose to be present and take every day as it comes
Tomorrow we will be exploring calm as an antidote to anxiety and the format will be slightly different with a loving kindness meditation. Please do join and feel free to invite others. The link to join is here.
Please donate as you are able – with no obligation and no upper or lower limit. The link to donate is: paypal.me/weleadchange. All profits will go towards supporting our community of freelancers, small business owners and independents during this time.
“You are the sky – everything else is just the weather” Pema Chodron.
What is your internal weather today? Please read, again, the quote above. No matter our weather – sunny, windy or given to sudden showers – we are a constant in the background. We are the sky. Broad, permanent and beautiful. We can stand serene in this – knowing that this weather too will pass.
Monday we will set intentions for the week. Please do join and feel free to invite others. We ‘meet’ on zoom every week day morning at 8.45 for 15 minutes. The link is here.
Please donate as you are able – with no obligation and no upper or lower limit. The link to donate is: paypal.me/weleadchange. All profits will go towards supporting our community of freelancers, small business owners and independents during this time.
“If it’s your job to eat a frog, it’s best to do it first thing in the morning. And if it’s your job to eat two frogs, it’s best to eat the BIGGEST one first!” Mark Twain
The frog, of course, is a metaphor for the things that you are finding challenging to complete or procrastinating over. You may have come across this before through the book ‘Eat that Frog’ which looks at tackling procrastination and ultimately being more productive by getting the right things done at the right time and taking control of your day.
Eating frogs was our theme today. We had a range of ideas that were shared. These included:
Productivity tools – Antonia suggested the Pomodoro method of breaking the day into smaller, timed segments (https://tomato-timer.com/#). Donald uses Evernote – and zero inbox to help organise an connect tasks (https://evernote.grsm.io/ebccccdpudney). Julian suggested agreeing and setting a timer with children for activities.
Getting prepared – Mecki reflected “I start the day the night before, writing down three things I am pleased/grateful about that went on during that day just gone and set myself the three most important things to do the next day. Those these things change of course quite regularly”. Similarly, Lamese said “I plan for the day in the morning based on how I feel 50/50 split between work and personal”.
Creating routine – Many participants mentioned following the same schedule with a few constants to help build momentum. This could include: an exercise break, eating meals at set times, start the day with a session with loved ones and talk about feelings and what to focus on that day.
Creating a sense of accountability – Productivity is supported if you have an accountability buddy, tell others what you’re doing and check-in with colleagues
Please – being productive is important – but do give yourself permission to be kind. These are odd times and holding ourselves and others too rigidly is not ideal. Focus and flex!
We ended with each sharing the first ‘frog’ we were going to eat today. And this epic – and appropriate song from Paul McCartney:
“Win or lose, sink or swim One thing is certain we’ll never give in Side by side, hand in hand We all stand together”
See you tomorrow for our last Cup of Calm for the week. Please do join and feel free to invite others. We ‘meet’ on zoom every week day morning at 8.45 for 15 minutes. The link is: https://zoom.us/j/8044531372
Please donate as you are able – with no obligation and no upper or lower limit. The link to donate is: paypal.me/weleadchange. All profits will go towards supporting our community of freelancers, small business owners and independents during this time.
“Family: the reason we lose it – and the reason we hold it together.”
Family life is incredible and hard and wonderful and draining and beautiful and ugly – often all at the same time. Throw a pandemic into the mix complete with self-isolation, home-schooling, caring for elderly and vulnerable parents, working from home, financial insecurity and world-wide lock-down, it’s perfectly normal to feel overwhelmed. It’s called being human and let’s be real, it’s hard enough to hold ourselves together in these uncertain times, let alone a family.
We don’t have the answers but we can promise you, you aren’t alone. We’re all in this together which is why we have created a space for us to gather each week, to stay connected as parents – (whether it’s parenting our children or parenting our parents!) – to be real, to share our experiences and offer support, encouragement and a life-line of solidarity and community in this unprecedented time of uncertainty and confusion.
Please join us every Thursday from 12-1pm – the link to join is here – and feel free to share the invite.
In these new times – are you wondering how to get any work done, stay focused, enjoy the change or stay away from the news? Us too!
This mornings Cup of Calm focused on resourcefulness. Life as we know it, has changed and we need to find a way through different challenges. It’s not our resources (i.e. physical objects or money) but our resourcefulness that can help us at this time. This is the ability to rest into our strength of character to find ways to overcome and reframe whatever situation we find ourselves in.
We asked this morning: “Think about a time in the past when you have been seriously tested by life – how did you come through? How did you get out the other side? What inner resources did you access?
What came out was a tool kit of resourcefulness, including: sense of humour, patience, grit, determination, friends, creativity, and optimism. Charlotte said I answer “What sustains me?”. Smurti mentioned “A positive mental attitude. There is always something better around the corner.” And Sula “knowledge that I can and will do whatever it takes”.
Whether you are wondering how to balance pro bono and paid work, stay energised, stay centred, make a meaningful difference, respond to everyone’s needs or focus – you have inner resources to rise to the challenge.
See you tomorrow for a lesson is eating frogs!
Please do join and feel free to invite others. We ‘meet’ on zoom every week day morning at 8.45 for 15 minutes. The link is: https://zoom.us/j/8044531372
Please donate as you are able – with no obligation and no upper or lower limit. The link to donate is: paypal.me/weleadchange. All profits will go towards supporting our community of freelancers, small business owners and independents during this time.
