pandemic

the pandemic, one long, painful, productive year in

burnout / health coaching / social justice

I may be suffering from pandemic fallout.

If you’ve followed me for awhile, you’ve gotten a new blog post a week for four years with only a few exceptions. Apparently, I have a lot to say?

And lying in bed this morning, I had to admit, sometimes, you just got nothin’.

So this week, I’m thinking it’s time to go back to the archives and remind you of an earlier post that resonated with people: What does the pandemic make possible?

Depending on when you started counting, we’re coming up on the one-year anniversary of the pandemic arriving in America.

I know this because one year ago in early February, I brought my daughter back a few days early from Hong Kong, where she was visiting her father—things in Asia were heating up.

One year ago this week, she got on a plane to Germany, and our family spent the next five months spread across three continents. Which means that as family COO, I spent a lot of time tracking Covid-19 cases and deaths on three continents and trying to stay on top of the logistics of evacuation if it became necessary.

In my family we’ve all survived and—admittedly from a position of privilege—(mostly) thrived in the past year.

one year later

Last year took away a lot of things I was used to—visiting family, gathering with friends, eating out, travel. (I know, truly #firstworldproblems.) And it certainly wasn’t without gifts.

  • I got to have both kids home for the fall semester since both were doing virtual school—which means that Kermit the Dog got a lot more love and attention than he’s been used to for awhile. (I think the dogs may just be the big winners of 2020?) Then again, I wonder what this fall will bring: will I ever really be an empty nester? Do I really want to be?
  • I’ve done a lot of decluttering/detoxing/weeding—in my physical space, my relationships, my energetic space.
  • I have become even more deeply grateful for my health and for the practitioners who help me maintain it.
  • I’ve recognized my level of privilege on a much, much deeper level and—I hope—found ways to use that position for the benefit of others, which has always been part of my intention for my coaching practice.
  • When my business flatlined early in the pandemic, I got to spend a few months working on my practice, not just in it—really stepping back from the day-to-day workings of it and rethinking/rebuilding its infrastructure.
  • With the help of a Michigan Small Business Restart grant in the fall, I launched the EAT™ program’s first cohort—and more importantly, I was able to do so with scholarships available for women who wouldn’t normally seek out health coaching for financial reasons!
  • I got to grow my team to include an online business manager and a virtual expert—like a virtual assistant who focuses on making the virtual side of a business a smoother, more seamless experience for everyone involved.
  • I was finally able to take my coaching practice 100% virtual—something I’d been considering for awhile. (Yeah, have you ever noticed that when you put something like that out to the Universe, she delivers with a vengeance? “Oh, you’re thinking you might want to go completely virtual? Well, let me make your mind up for you: here’s a pandemic that will make you stop vacillating and actually do it!”) What’s the big deal about going virtual? Well, it makes me “location independent”—if we’re ever able to travel again, I can work from anywhere, and I can serve a much larger audience than just those within a 50-mile radius.
  • I was able to start a podcast—and speaking of growing beyond a 50-mile radius, at last count, the podcast has reached 26 countries?!?

make the connection

What has the pandemic made possible for you? Let me know in the comments!

And if you’re looking for health coaching, be sure to check out our (now 100% virtual!) offerings:

[Photo by Anna Shvets from Pexels]
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