Stability – that’s what the stool’s four legs offer– and it’s what my creative, curious brain and overly-active life are constantly in search of. One of my favorite tools, is a mnemonic I discovered or created when… I spent a year as a zombie and gradually coming back to life. I’ll write about it more in another post, but for now, suffice it to say that I broke off an engagement and had a swirling collection of other intense emotional situations… and I withdrew from much of life to understand what was happening, what I needed, how to feel again. My life for much of that year, became very simple, deconstructed, as I gradually relaxed into reality and some of the things I was to learn. One of the key realizations that came from that year, was that my basic health depends upon SNEC(S) – sleep, nutrition, exercise & manage stress, connection. The bonus = simplify.
Whether or not we’re living through a global pandemic, I find life is much more manageable when I recognize my needs and otherwise simplify. For more on anxiety management and simplifying in the pandemic, check out this blog post with another of my mantras, which abbreviates to SAFE (simplify life, accept trade-offs, focus on what I can do, and embrace imperfection- SAFE) In addition to my pandemic practices, I’ve recently doubled down on my four-legged chair or stool, which is my distillation of what medical and mindfulness experts have said. It is my key to physical and mental health, and strong immunity. We ALL need these things. By the way, if you haven’t already figured it out, I love mnemonics – those abbreviations that help us remember systems, or many related things (remember roygbiv? pemdas?). I get nerdy excited when things click into a simple, memorable tool. So, my sanity tool, my stable chair = SNEC. It may not roll off the tongue, but it makes it easier for me to remember several things simultaneously. You can make that 4-legged chair as comfortable or rugged as you prefer, include the bonus/simplify (for a 5th leg, or a back to your chair?), and/or feel free to reorder the letters as you wish.
- We all need to get sufficient sleep (7-9 hours each night);
- We all need nutrition — to eat healthfully;
- We all need exercise and stress management (meditation, understanding our thoughts, journaling, laughing);
- We all need connection — even those of us who relish and need alone time need connection (video calls with colleagues, friends, family? living room dance parties streaming from FB, IG or YouTube? yoga or kickboxing classes online? appropriately distanced walks? even plain old phone calls).
With those four covered – sleep, nutrition, exercise, connection- it is SO much easier to process the rest of life. And if you add in the bonus simplify (hone in on needs, or a few priorities), and let go of expectations around the rest… you’re golden.
So, take care of yourself – both your pandemic practices, and the basic, ongoing self-care. Be SAFE and SNEC on! And, in the meantime, check out some of the funny songs about these times on YouTube – there are some great parodies! We will get through this.