Anyone else tired of being overwhelmed by bad news about the virus? Yeah, me too! My husband and I have been talking so much this past week about how there’s so much we can learn during this uncertain time. While it’s important to be informed and up to date on the situation (I know this is challenging because it’s changing ever so quickly) I believe it’s beneficial to take notes on what we can takeaway from this. There is a much longer list of things we can learn right now but I’ll just start with three. I know this information might not be new to you but I encourage you to read this with an open heart. Let’s dive right into my main takeaways from our current global situation.
Savings in the Bank
Now, I want to be clear that I am by no means a financial expert so if you would like more information on this topic, please reach out to an actual financial expert to help you. I will share how I was able to save money as it might work for you. Ok, I’ve put my disclaimer out there so let’s continue.
I’ve heard it said many times by financial experts to always have at least six months of living expenses in the bank in case of an emergency. I understand this seems a little daunting when you live paycheck to paycheck. I see you. I’ve been there. In fact, I was there for many years. There were many years when I had zero dollars in my savings account. At one point, I didn’t even have a savings account.
One thing I’ve learned over the past 10 years is how much control we have over designing an abundant life we want and deserve to live. Regardless of how much money you think you don’t make there’s always money to put into a savings account.
When Scot and I decided to really get serious about saving we created a spreadsheet with all our monthly living expenses. This included food, rent, utilities, insurance, car payment, streaming services, and cell phone. We did have a Disneyland annual pass at one point so we included that as well. We added up our net income and subtracted all of our living expenses. With the money we had left over at the end of the month we chose an amount to put into our savings accounts. We started small with an amount we thought was doable and increased it as our income grew. We put most or all of our financial bonuses into our savings accounts.
When we wanted to increase our savings amount we revisited our monthly expenses to see where we could cut back. As much as we love supporting local restaurants, eating out is usually the first place we cut back. We still eat out occasionally just not as often. After all, it is important to us to have regular date nights. Sometimes we want to go on a date night and not have to cook or do the dishes.
Is saving money easy? Not always. However, we focus on our reason why we want to save money. We are so grateful that we have cash in the bank to fall back on right now just in case we need it.
Strong Immune System
Building a strong immune system over time is a key component in reducing your risk of getting any type if illness. It’s been almost eight years since I really started focusing on getting quality sleep, adequate sunshine, and eating an abundance of whole nutrient dense foods. I’ve noticed that when I get a cold I recover so much faster than I did before and others who have the same illness. This is because of healthy habits I’ve intentionally created over the past eight created. While I’m not 100% all the time with my healthy habits, I know it makes a big difference.
When you have healthy habits in place and you do get sick, it’s important to recognize where you may have fallen off the healthy habits band wagon. For me, it’s usually because I’ve had multiple nights in a row of poor sleep. Right before Christmas I got a head cold that had me in bed for a day. I made sure I took extra good care of myself and recovered in a few days.
During Christmas I indulged a little too much in sugar and wine and it negatively effected my sleep and immune system. The day before New Year’s Eve I started coming down with something again. And then on New Year’s Eve I progressively got worse. I developed a fever of 103 and spent New Year’s Day laying in bed watching Gone with the Wind while my amazing husband brought me food, water and Advil when I needed it. Thankfully my fever went down within 24 hours.
I had not been this sick in at least 10 years. My husband and I have been together eight years and he had never seen me that sick. It was a doozy! Thankfully, within a few days I started to feel like a human being again. It took about two weeks for my cough to go away but eventually I was able to get back to my regularly scheduled active lifestyle.
I share this with you to emphasize the fact that no one is immune to a virus that’s spreading like wildfire but there are preventative measures we can take to lessen the severity. This is why I’ve been intentional about creating a nighttime routine to help me wind down so my body can rest and recover through the process of sleep. This is why I’ve drastically cut back on my sugar intake the past three months. This is why I recently started journaling to help me get my feelings out in the open. This is super helpful in reducing my stress levels which helps strengthen my immune system. This is why I focus on moving my body everyday even when I don’t “feel like it.” Just like saving money, it’s not always easy but my why is very emotional. My why keeps me going.
Be Flexible
Life will never be the same since this pandemic has hit the world so hard. I was at a Primal Health Coach Masterclass in Austin, Texas, last April with one of my mentors from a distance (yes, you can have mentors from a distance) and he said something that stuck with me. As a business owner, you have learn how to pivot and be flexible. This is a big lesson we are all learning right now.
We’ve all had to learn how to pivot in most areas of our lives. People are being forced to work from home which I know can be a challenging adjustment. After I left my corporate job in September of 2018 to health coach and train people full time it took me months to adjust. Even though it was my choice to leave my job to work from home it was still hard.
For many people now, being forced to work from home can really throw them for a loop especially if they thrive on routine. One thing that really helped me adjust was setting up a designated work station. Even though I work from a laptop, I have a stand up desk station that I use quit often. I occasionally will sit on the couch to work. There’s something psychological that’s helpful with having a work space.
I’ve had to move all my coaching appointments to Zoom (an online virtual meeting platform) or postpone them until this virus is under control. While I prefer meeting in person, especially if my clients are local to me, virtual coaching sessions can be just as powerful. For those of you who have not yet embraced technology of video chat I encourage you start now. With our lives being disrupted like they are now, I have a vision that working remotely and communicating virtually will be more of a constant in our every day life.
Doing a simple task such as going to the grocery store can be stressful these days. The stores are way more crowded with people and less crowded with food on the shelf. You walk around wondering who is carrying the virus that doesn’t know it or stressing out over whether or not you have it and you’re compromising other people in the store. We are being forced to be more mindful of the distance between us and the nice person in line in front of us.
Up until last week I would go to the store a few times a week for a few items just to get out of the house for 30 minutes. This past week I went to the grocery store on Monday and my husband went on the way home from work Monday night. We don’t plan on going to the store for at least another week. We’re stocked up on food and water until then so there’s no need to stress out over simply going to the store.
I want to hear from you! What lessons are you learning from this time of uncertainty?
Please feel free to reach out to us at melissa@honeybee.kitchen if you need anything from us. We’re here to support you during this time.
Stay safe and healthy!