Type-A in the Time of Covid
In some form or another, we’ve been in this sort of global cocooning. I have been primarily absent from social media not just because I’ve been immersed in work but also because I’ve personally been in a period of deep contemplation and transformation and not wanting to share in a large scale way until that transformation was further along in it’s development. I have been hard at work with my clients and breaking my own marketing advice about posting to various social media on a regular basis and There was an intentional purpose to this; with all the chaos, I wanted to take my time and share from a meaningful place. I’ve been working hard with my own mentor to make a few shifts in the way that I’ve been delivering my services which led to my participation in the Rising Above Covid19 Summit taking place right now. I feel a particular calm in not having followed the conventional rules of engagement in order to recenter and serve from a more heart-centred and empowered space rather than the massive overwhelm I initially felt when all of this hit.
Oh yeah, coaches get overwhelmed too!
Overwhelm is also one of the most frequent states my clients are expressing right now.
Overwhelm is defined as "bury or drown beneath a huge mass".
How many of you who were overwhelmed prior to pandemic measures are now finding yourselves even more overwhelmed by the addition of homeschooling, figuring out how to work from home, how you’re going to manage finances if a job is unexpectedly gone, extended isolation from your important support systems… I could go on, but I’m certain that there are some nodding heads from those of you reading this.
My own overwhelm stemmed from being a single parent of a teen who already struggles in school now having to self-direct online learning who is also prone to overwhelm and anxiety, growing my business, running a household, being deeply sensitive to the energy of the world, and so on… When I go into overwhelm, my Type-A comes out; I began to narrow my focus on all of my action items, making lists, lists and more lists, lists for me, lists for my kid, lists for others! Super fun, right? Not so much, or so I was told.
It took a few conversations with my mentor to see that I’d reverted into that Type-A personality, which is the High-Achiever rather than the High-Performer. The High-Achiever likes to check boxes, narrow focus into how many things I can DO in order to feel good about myself VS I am well and safe, how can I best serve during this time?
I’d shifted out of Self-Appreciation.
Self-Appreciation is acts of kindness towards MySelf. It is the acknowledgement of what has already been done, what has already shifted, what is being created. It’s so important to REMEMBER who I am and what I’ve already accomplished. It’s actively and intentionally checking in with MySelf to see what I want to do internally; maybe I DO want to accomplish a bunch of things today, maybe today is the day that resonates, only if it comes from a place of appreciation rather than needing to get those done in order to feel OK.
The lightbulb finally went off for me when I exclaimed it’s time to shift the “A” in Type-A from achievement to Appreciation.
Where have you omitted appreciation towards yourSelf during this time? What kind of overwhelm has been showing up in your life? How are you taking care of yourSelf within that overwhelm? Are you focusing on the overwhelm to avoid deeper emotions that are struggling to be expressed? What is coming up for you during all of this?
It’s so important to take the time to check in with yourself, and you don’t have to go it alone. Now is the time to seek support with what has been emerging within yourSelf. Of course, I am available to help you navigate your internal landscape and you are welcome to reach out to schedule a 15-minute discovery to see how I can help you make a shift towards deeper emotional wellbeing.
With Appreciation,
XO Jessica