Episode #37 - Time to give yourself a break... you deserve it!

Episode Notes: 

With everything you’ve been through in the past year, have you simply just had enough already?

Have all the losses of financial security, personal relationships and your ideals of a “normal life” completely worn you out & left you drained?

Feel like you just need to unplug from all of it for a minute, or a week… or a year??

Well, I’m right there with ya!... Join us this week, as we take a look back through history and realize these monumental “events” or shifts we have in life, have happened many times before this pandemic and all follow 4 common phases… and the best thing we can do for our own sanity & well-being right now, is to TAKE A BREAK! … (it’s OK, the world needs you to!)

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Transcript

Episode #37 – Time to give yourself a break!

I know everyone surely realizes this, but we have all been through an extremely difficult 12-15 months… a devastating shift in our world, our way of life… and just about everything we do.

Many of us have lost so much in the past year… we have experienced loss of income, some completely, some just took pay cuts or concessions in their paychecks for a period of time, or indefinitely, but almost nobody came through this financially unscathed… but then again, some did…. Some did & thrived.

On the flip side of economic loss as there were complete industries and businesses dying, there were other businesses, industries and technologies, both existing & brand new, that were absolutely exploding & expanding at an incredible rate…. Shaping what our “new world” would look like and how it would operate.

As devastating as the economic loss was for many of us, we had other, more personal losses that may have impacted us much harder. 

Some of us lost some very important people in our lives… friends, neighbors, co-workers got sick, suffered mostly alone and ultimately died from the virus or COVID-related conditions.

Many of us lost relatives and like myself, lost some of our closest family members… maybe not directly from the virus, but from depression, suicide or worsening medical conditions amplified from being “locked-down” and cut-off with no access to their loved ones… sometimes their only remaining life-line.

Although the loss of a loved one is not something to measure against…it is known that there is always a period of grief & mourning after a loss… sometimes it takes longer than others , but we all know death is a natural part of the life-cycle & we expect to have to deal with it, at some point or another in our lives,

But realistically, something probably more disrupting and that can feel like even a greater loss, is the loss of what was our “normal life”. 

Even though there is no definition to exactly what that is, we all have had such a rapid, massive & totally unpredictable change in what our everyday life looked like, that has completely shattered the mindsets of so many, even the most positive-minded people around us were overwhelmed with confusion, frustration, doubt & anxiety about what to do next and the constant battering we have been subject to from the media, portraying all the bad things that are going to happen… the negative hype they use to keep you tuned-in & listening to them, makes us feel even more uncertain and lost.

Life, as we know it, has changed for certain, and feels like it is lost forever, and I think the majority of us don’t know where to turn… or what to do?

It seems hopeless…

But a few things I do know for sure are, these “major event shifts” seem to have 4 common phases:

#1. SHIT HAPPENS (elaborate..)

#2. WE REACT (shock, fear, grief, anger,  etc)

#3. WE ADOPT (acknowledgement, change, resolve)

#4. LIFE CONTINUES (we reshape our new normal)

Our world has gone through several “major event shifts” catastrophic events in our history, just in the last century or so, we have survived through….

1.   9/11 attacks - 2001 

2.   Hiroshima & the atomic bomb – 1945 

3.   Stock market crash & great depression -1929 

4.   Start of WW1 – 1914 (The war changed the economical balance of the world, and making the U.S. the leading industrial power and creditor in the world, destroyed empires, created numerous new nation-states, encouraged independence movements in Europe's colonies, forced the United States to become a world power and led directly to Soviet communism and the rise of Hitler)

At these individual times in our history, life, it seems, came to a complete stop, people reacted, were scared of the unknow future… but slowly adapted & life continued…. Different for sure… changed?... absolutely!.... but continued.

(if you don’t believe me, ask some of your oldest relatives!)

So, as we finish working our way through Phase 3, and we have ADOPTED to what our lives look like now, and we enter into Phase 4… as the world opens back up and life continues, as it has done through-out our history, we need to take a pause…. We need to give ourselves a break.

A break from the chaos… a break from the fear… a break from the uncertainty in our world… a break from the losses… a break from the media… a break from the constant, never-ending numbers updates of infections, death rates, to mask or not and vaccination rates… a break from the never-ending conversations about COVID…. A break from our reality, and just get away somewhere, if even for only a day or two, longer if possible, but at least a couple days to unplug from it all.

To get back to nature (because nature has incredible healing powers) whether it’s a weekend of camping out with the family, some biking, hiking or fishing by yourself in a state park, golf trip with some good friends, a few days at a local water park with your kids or on the water enjoying the serenity of boating, or maybe a week up north at your cabin or cottage on the lake…. Maybe a trip to your favorite beach?

Regardless of where ever you go, how long you go for, whom your with or whatever your doing… JUST DO IT!.... and DO IT AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!

The world is rebounding right now and you may not get a chance to go later…. And regret will do nothing but burn in your gut like a bad gas station burrito.

You owe this to yourself… matter of fact, crazy as it sounds, you owe this to the rest of the world!

That’s right.... the rest of the world needs the best version of you possible… your family… your kids… your spouse… your employer… your employees... your community… yes, the whole damn world needs you to be mentally & emotionally refreshed & re-energized to bring your best… but you can’t bring your best when you’re at your worst… mentally drained, exhausted, uncertain & fearful.

You NEED this… you DESERVE this… you should NOT feel guilty about taking some time for yourself…. JUST DO IT!

You really don’t need to spend much either, for the low cost of a 2-day park pass or campground fee, you can get back to nature & enjoy the sights, sounds & smells of serenity.... without the TV news or social media, and realize there is so much more in life to look forward to… it IS up to you!

YOU determine your future, not some talking head on the TV.

Sure, there will be another world crisis or two in our future, that will once again change & re-shape our lives … but history has proven over and over that CHANGE is a constant in life, but we do ADAPT & continue to move forward.

But for NOW… GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK…. You have certainly earned it & you absolutely deserve it!

I can confirm this with absolute certainty, after just returning from a much-anticipated week break on the beach without the worries of work or the stressors of home… just nothing but the sun, sand & ocean… the overwhelm has melted away, stress has subsided… my soul is refreshed, my spirit is renewed, my mind is clear and I’m mentally & emotionally ready to take on whatever this world throws at me next!

NOW is your time, don’t put it off another minute.... give yourself a break!

 Rick Selover 

Founder & Host of The Mind Wrench Podcast 

www.rickselover.com