Hope and Resilience Today!

I has been a difficult month, but…

We CAN make it through the tough times- together!

Do you need some help to survive and possibly thrive in the next few lockdown weeks?  Has the news or worse, your personal experiences that I only see on the news, got you stuck? Stressed?

Overwhelmed? News reading or watching stressed out?  We can do this together and here are some things that can help:

Realistic expectations, Self-care, Self-regulation and self-motivation are key for survival.

Be real: DO What YOU CAN (for the better good). Keep your expectations real and this may not be the time to do all those things you ever wanted to do and haven’t had the time, like starting a whole new job, or repainting your place, or cleaning out every single closet- and no matter what, do things one at a time and celebrate any of your accomplishments or the wins of others doing good. 

Maybe you are struggling because you have been running on adrenaline for the last four or more weeks. 

This hormone is a response and the kind of activity (running around and doing too much) is a biological response to trauma, and your body cannot keep it up (think: burnout).  So, be careful!  It may be that you are already in that can’t handle it/weepy/stressed area (burnout edge).  Then self-care is key.  Self-regulation and self- motivation are also part of the whole package.

How do you realistically keep yourself motivated?  Have you set up a (realistic) schedule and to-do list? Keep your expectations in line with your body mind and soul right now. 

Personally, I have cut back because I know I am grieving a lot (lots of cancellations and disappointments).  I set times for good/healthy work, and I set times to just relax or read a book or go outside (we can still do that here).  I make a list for the week using the Eisenhower matrix and I try to get things done on time (or even early so my stress level is a low as possible).

Self-care is right up there on my list of things to do.  I have activities that make me happy and I try to do them regularly.  What activities give you joy?  Try spending more time on them and try focusing on the here and now- and spend less time worrying about what you cannot control.  A big part of this is remembering what I am grateful for, thinking about what is good about the past- and the present, and looking forward to some things (even if they are far off or with no dates).

Maybe you are a wee bit (or even more) scared. That is normal, at the moment!

Brené Brown posted this on Instagram today (January 25th, 2026): “Cruelty is a primary tool of coercive power. Why? Neurobiologically, fear has a short shelf-life. We don’t stay afraid for long. Our nervous systems get overwhelmed and we disengage, or we start to hyper-normalize. Or, we process the fear in community so we can feel and think our way back to courage. The constant chaos, corruption, and cruelty keeps us untethered from ourselves and from each other.”

We need to self-regulate and be together to help one another.

Self-regulation is all about consciously watching your mood and working on making it better.  You know, if you get enough sleep, exercise and eat right you are about 75% of the way there and none of this even is hard.  All of that makes you much happier- then after that, monitor your media input. (Being grateful and savoring the moment also help).

One other (really nice) way to be happy is to spend money on and help others.  When I spoke this weekend with a friend, her boss (of an SME) is very worried about sales and turnover at this time, as they don’t have a big cushion.  So, what can we do:

·      Keep up your subscriptions and such, for example, keep your cleaning firm-and go to the hairdresser if it is allowed

·      Shop local, if at ALL possible!

·      Shop from small businesses and avoid amazon, those Chinese online stores, etc.

Again, we need each other:

We can be part of the solution, if we try, especially in community and Self-reflection and integrity are keys to the solution, in community.

In community, looking at ourselves and what we can do more is key.  Let’s do it alone – and but also together.

I personally allow myself to be with someone else or be in a group where I am able to become vulnerable.  Then I can acknowledge that I might possibly be part of the problem we are considering at the moment, and I listen to first of all to myself, but also to others, especially to those with whom I might disagree.  Then I try and do one small thing to be a part of the solution.

That listening to others is also very important for the reflection process.  We often only read and listen to opinions and ideas that corroborate our own thoughts, ideas and opinions.  But if we do this, how are we going to grow? 

Thus, integrity is also part of our solution.  I need to check out what “those other people” think, feel, believe, need and their reasoning for their actions with an open mind and heart.

FINALLY:

If you need to talk, I am available for a short 30 minutes for free – or for longer after the short talk.

Remember, staying at home doom scrolling will not help you but working for the greater good will and you may not be personally affected by what is happening around the world but still be able to affect positive (or negative) results so do what you can (for the greater good).  Rest and work AND, if at all possible, do one good thing for your neighbor every day. I can tell you who your neighbor is, if you do not know.

Wishing you a healthy week in body, mind, soul and spirit,

Patricia Jehle   patricia@jehle-coaching.com