Last week did not go as planned.
I came down with a brutal head cold, which coincided with my dog being neutered and having a bad reaction to his post-op meds.
So while I couldn’t sleep because my head was completely congested, I also found myself outside in the middle of the night—not once, not twice, but five times—with an unhappy dog wearing a plastic cone and dealing with some very unfortunate gastrointestinal issues.
Needless to say, neither of us got any sleep. We were both miserable.
After roughly 150 cups of hot tea, mega doses of vitamins and herbs, six boxes of Kleenex (for me), and a few cans of prescription dog food and some probiotics (for him), we were both on the mend within about 72 hours.
The only good thing about being sick is the gratitude you feel for your normal life once you’re better.
Sometimes “bad things come in threes.” (Or maybe that’s just celebrity media hype.) Either way, my arms didn’t want to feel left out. So, they decided to stage a rebellion in the form of tennis/golfer’s elbow. The left one from too much golf, and the right one from overcompensating while playing tennis.
So I am sidelined from the recreational part of my life for at least another week.
When your routines disappear, it’s easy to do nothing and hope life feels normal again. But sometimes that can lead to isolation and even some depression.
The one thing I kept doing was taking daily walks, because my little dog needs a lot of exercise. They weren’t epic walks, but they were just enough movement and daylight to stay connected and avoid a quiet little woe-is-me spiral.
Sometimes when things feel dark, it’s about doing the smallest possible thing that keeps you engaged in your life until you’re ready for more. You don’t wait for everything to be perfect to make progress.
Ask yourself: What’s the smallest thing I can do today to feel some progress? Then do that
If you’ve been in a funk—due to illness, grief, or some other life interruption—and can’t quite get yourself motivated to take action, you don’t have to do it alone.
It can be very helpful to have someone walk with you while you figure out the first or next step toward feeling like yourself again.
Book a call with me here, and let’s take that first step together.
Happy Wednesday!
-Jackie
