Create your new normal

Intentionally redefining post-covid behaviors

After Covid, I saw many of my clients, friends and family members carrying deep-seated exhaustion and fatigue. Working long hours in social isolation, staying in jobs for security and dealing with demotivation, toxic work cultures and burnout. In other cases, brain fog and difficulty experiencing joy remained. We got so used to it that it became our new long-lasting reality.

We have forgotten how life was when it was free, potent and abundant

The temporary Covid-behaviours became the new standard, claiming that they provide us with freedom and flexibility, yet some of them can feel like a self-imposed prison.

Virtual work environments, fewer social interactions, coffee chats that needed to be scheduled on Zoom, and fewer hugs and physical touches with friends.

Fear, anxiety, the need for safety, and isolation appeared more often in our lives and at work. If we want to make a change, we need to create new standards and teach ourselves behaviors that are supportive, and healthy and help us create a sustainable way of living and working.

Today, in a conversation with a mental health professional, I was again reminded of how many of us working in this field are also noticing the long-lasting effects of covid, including social isolation and habits that changed and still last negatively impacting our relationships, level of connectedness, work environments and mental health. ??

Change starts by creating awareness

Step back from your daily hustle. Create space to reflect and allow your awareness to expand. Be non-judgmental and listen to yourself mindfully to understand as much as is available to your consciousness at the moment.

?? What dysfunctional behaviors are you identifying in your life and at work?

?? What impacts are you noticing that are still present after covid for you or others?

?? What helps you feel connected in your relationships, at work, and in daily life?

?? On a scale from 1-10, how alone vs. connected, do you feel these days?

?? What is the next small change that will help you create your new reality?

Nourishment is the core of a healthy existence

Moving away from your everyday environment and immersing yourself in healing practices and transformative experiences help create new imprints.

I sense that there is an extended process taking place after Covid, re-learning to be joyful, redefining balance, reconsidering what matters most in life, relationships, and at work, and making nourishment a priority.

I identified practices in my own life that have proven to be valuable to make a change. I'm offering them to you here. You're welcome to try them, take them if they work for you, or leave them and create new ones. I encourage you to experiment courageously and dare to choose unapologetically what serves you.

7 practices for nourishment

1. Create nourishing daily routines: spend time in nature once a week, respect your alone time, go to bed super early one day a week, establish regular mealtimes, and set boundaries around when you check work matters. A daily balancing routine and consistency will keep you centered and grounded.
2. Practice yoga and meditate daily: are meditation apps your thing? Use them! Do you prefer practicing in a community? Sign up for a class in the neighborhood! The practice has so many benefits beyond the physical layer that it will unbelievably enrich and deepen your daily experiences.
3. Immerse yourself in rituals: Imagine the water washes away tension as you mindfully wash your hands after a difficult meeting. Look deeply into your food and appreciate what you find on the plate before a meal. If it appeals to you, say a short prayer, too. Take the time to enjoy a delicious breath and look at the sky when you step out of the office. Cry on the street. Laugh out loud. Find depth and step into the sacredness of the ordinary. ??
4. Embrace simplicity: buy less and shop at home first. Create a few outfits you love and wear them repeatedly. Skip applying make-up. Send messages with typos. Call people spontaneously instead of scheduling meetings long in advance. Say "I appreciate you' and "Thank you" as many times as you can.
5. Accept your current state with compassion: have you gained weight during the long wfh hours? Is your mental capacity different? Do you need more breaks? Do you want to have a longer lunch break alone just to think? May the solution for you be accepting a job offer that gives you more time with loved ones while you step back and take less responsibility? I teach self-compassion and practice it with almost all of my clients. The three elements of it are self-kindness, Common humanity, and Mindfulness teaching you how you can notice, befriend, and treat yourself with kindness while meeting life's inevitable experiences: suffering, imperfectness, and failure. The women I work with high-achiever traits, living and operating in the culture of hustle are often relieved to learn that they are enough and that what they're experiencing is natural. It's coming from being human.
6. Collect new transformative experiences: to make a change, you need to do things differently. To do things differently, experiencing novel ways of thinking, seeing and, being can be an enormous help. "You can't be what you can't see." If you are surrounded by corporate employees, becoming a business owner might make you the black sheep. Practicing spirituality in a highly pragmatic and secular environment is possible, yet difficult. Connect with people and immerse yourself in experiences that you haven't tried before and bring you closer to the reality you intend to create for yourself. Shake up your existence just to make it more authentic and more aligned. ??
7. Rediscover joy and ease in any moment: joy is a birthright. By following joy, making connections, and choosing activities that fill you with energy you put yourself in the direction of alignment. Everything is energy. If there is no joy, if there is tension, there is stuckness, there is a lack of spaciousness, and there is a block in the life energy. Where do you feel blocked? Whom do you want to connect with? What would feel nourishing? Choose joy. Choose love. Choose your authentic true Self.

What or who would help you make a change?

There are no right or wrong answers. May you want to go on a shamanic healing session, take a day off and go on a hike, try out a new hobby, or go on exotic travel, it’s truly your choice how you create your new normal. If you consider partnering with a professional to make the change you wish to, tap into your resources, create your new balance, and rediscover the joy and fulfillment in life and at work, book a clarity call . I'll be curious to explore how I may help you create your new normal.

Hi, I'm Zsanett Czifrus . I help women and organizations navigate changes and uncertainty, and find authentic and heart-led direction at work and in life. ?

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