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What Works Now? Life Coaching as COVID Restrictions Are Eased

For many of us, the gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions is already bringing the opportunities we have been waiting for. Seeing friends and extended family, playing sports, and going back to in-person work situations are changes happening day by day. Mother’s Day was a beautiful opportunity to come together for many American families. What will the rest of the summer bring?

Like any big life change, the adjustment to new policies and procedures around vaccinations and masking can take time. We all found our own unique ways to cope during lockdown. We built sustainable habits, and we drew on our courage to face down hard times. Many of us acclimated to the isolation, but now we realize a whole new set of adjustments are waiting for us. Are you feeling scared?

Some of my life coaching clients and friends tell me that the ease out of a COVID-restricted life has brought on a period of high stress. We may have found a comfortable way that lets us cope and manage our isolation. Now that we have adjusted, it is hard to leave those habits behind and emerge again. Change, choices, and behaviors that worked for us during lockdown need to be re-examined. How best can we open up to the broader world while staying with the tough adjustments we made for the COVID-19 crisis? These “happy” days also can carry some anxiety, interpersonal conflict, and second-guessing.

What My Life Coaching Clients are Saying

Over the past year, my life coaching clients time and again expressed their frustration with how little control they have over so many of the changes brought about by the lockdown. Those conversations led to life coaching exercises, tools, and ways to help redirect our behavior and find ways to manage, again. Even with some generalized anger and resentment, I have noticed a strong resolve and motivation to find fulfillment and focus in relationships, at work, creatively, and for the good of ourselves and society.

How to manage it all? Here are some simple life coaching practices to help you figure that out:

Try on something new. In helping my life coaching clients navigate the changes, one of the exercises that works is to challenge ourselves to “try on” something different or new at specific intervals. “Trying on” something new, like we would try on a new article of clothing, doesn’t mean we need to commit to a whole new way of living right away. But in the practice, we might find something that really works.
Celebrate victories, big and small. This is another helpful practice, to find joy in our accomplishments. This gets us away from the slog of an endless to-do list, and more into the uplifted, positive energy we want to create in our lives. Keeping a journal can be helpful. As you review past entries, you will be reminded of where you were and how much you have learned.
Pace yourself. COVID has shown us more clearly than ever that we are all connected – when the virus spreads, we are all at risk. It has also demonstrated that we each have a unique set of circumstances we operate under. Don’t let other people pressure you into doing things you don’t want to or cannot do – but try not to let that be an excuse not to make necessary and positive changes in your life.
Reconnect safely. New regulations and rules may not equate to when the time is right for you. It can be hard to let others move forward without you – maybe your child wants to see friends or you need to return to work in person, but you can’t. It’s important to discuss your concerns with those close to you. You may also want to enlist the help of a trusted, impartial ally, therapist, or life coach (read more about the difference between therapy and life coaching here). Allowing other people the space to move at their own pace is key right now.

Over the past year, we may have become comfortable in our own space and with the company we keep. Whether it’s knowing how to insist on social distancing with friends or relatives, knowing when and where you have to wear a mask, or feeling odd or disconnected from others, it helps to know we are all feeling it. This is a time when having an ally will give you the confidence to follow your own values while you explore new options and possibilities.

A Life Coach to Help You Navigate the Changes

Life coaching with me, Catharine Ecton, is about noticing, identifying, and focusing on assumptions, beliefs, and self-limiting thoughts that might keep you from moving forward to reach your goals, no matter what those goals are. I believe that by working collaboratively we can change our lives one day at a time through life coaching. When you don’t know what your goals are, or should be, we’ll work to discover the ones that ring true to you. With the right tools, a few powerful questions, and the intention to create something that is authentically yours, you too can find the answers you seek and get to where you want to be.

As with any big change, it is so much better when you have an ally to help you in this work. To enlist my help, call Catharine Ecton Life Coaching or schedule your free Life Coaching consultation today. In my blog about Life Coaching vs. Therapy, I discussed the differences and reasons why you might want to hire me as your life coach.

Not sure if Life Coaching is for you? Read Life Coaching testimonials from several of my happy clients here.

Contact me for a complimentary, no-obligations life coaching consultation and we can work on making your life a more powerful, positive one together. Or use the Appointment Scheduler and pick a time that works for you for a phone consultation. You don’t necessarily need to find a life coach near you! As a Washington DC based life coach, I can relate to anyone working in a high-pressure, high-stakes environment or feeling they want more out of their life. I coach 100% of my clients over the phone and can accommodate most schedules. I look forward to hearing from you.