As the covid lockdown restrictions begin to ease, are you feeling a new type of pressure? Before we did not have to worry about going to events, doing things we really did not want to do and it was ok to stay home. Now, we are faced with numerous social choices we may not want to deal with yet. As some people are ready to fully get back to normal, others are not ready yet. Both ways are fine, it is the key in managing it that matters.
Right now we are faced with some big choices:
- Continue to remote work or go back to the office.
- Get back to dinning out and meeting friends.
- Dating.
- Doing normal appointments like nails, hair, etc.
- Sending kids back to school.
- Staying where we live or moving.
All of a sudden we have so many choices to make. For some, there are possibilities that they never knew they had before. Many began to work from home for the first time and do not want to return to a full time back at the office. Some want to split office and home time for work and others want to stay remotely.
Invitations to dine out, meet for drinks or even go to the movies start again. What if you are still not at the stage to want to do that yet? How do you handle the pressure?
Personally I love working from home and that will stay that way. I am comfortable going to the store with a mask if it is not crowded. Yet I am not ready for dinner parties or meeting for drinks.
All of a sudden I am feeling the pressure to join others and go out but it does not feel right to me. Right now during this change, it is time to figure out what feels right to you. Take a moment, think about it and write it down.
When you are asked to do something you are not ready to do, simply thank them and refuse the invitation. You do not need to explain why or your motivation. When we do that we open the door for folks to argue with us or pressure us. Stand firm. Here is an example of refusing that invitation to a friend's party: "That sounds like so much fun and I wish I could be there but right now I can not. Please pass my best wishes on to everyone and perhaps in the near future I will be able to join."
You have replied to their request, neatly and firmly denied it and topped it off with a compliment. So much easier than saying: "I am not ready to go to a party and be around so many people even though I know it is going to be fun. I am still nervous of large gatherings and not knowing who has and has not been vaccinated freaks me out. I think I will wait for a while to see how things work out with everyone else."
We all have so much pressure in our lives, especially now. Once you are clear on what you want to do and not do, it is easier to manage the stress.
If you want to continue to work remotely, have a conversation with your boss. Make sure you have speaking points written down along with examples of the good work you did remotely and what you want to do moving forward. If this is not an option, start to look for new work. All of a sudden there are tons of companies hiring remote workers, more than ever before.
Write down and practice set answers for turning down invitations so you do not feel the pressure and you will feel more confident. Then as you begin to feel like going out it will be easy to change your answers.
Right now is a perfect opportunity to stop and really look at your life:
- Are you living the life you really want to?
- Are you pursuing things that bring you joy?
- Are you living where you want to?
- Is your job fulfilling and what you desire?
- Is your friend group the one you want to have?
So many things to consider, but right now is the perfect time to take a look at what you want out of life and make the changes needed to get there. There is no need to feel the pressure from the outside world right now. This is the time to take a look and make the changes before you get caught up in the day to day routine of normal life as we start to return there.
If you want a free coaching call to help with this, hit the schedule now blue button below. It is not a sales call, this is a real coaching call to get you started. If you find value and want to continue working with me, we can get you signed up and if you sign up before the end of June 2021, I will give you 15% off the package price!
Either way, take a moment to write down what you want and the next steps to get you there.
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