Be Your Own Champion

There’s a reason ‘so much to do, so little time’ has become a staple in society. We’re all overwhelmed by the quiet chaos of adulthood, but imagine, if you will, attempting to navigate this with a case of ADHD so textbook you lost interest halfway through the formal diagnosis process. I was the kid who could never sit still, the teenager who tore sheets into tiny squares in an attempt to stay seated, and the university student who recorded every lecture and wrote out each one word for word over the course of two hours a pop just so I could find the handful of notes that mattered. I was the new mother who planned every half hour of every day on a weekly schedule simply to function: when to eat, when to clean, when to sleep. I planned it all.

Every. Single. Moment.

So, how did I become the mother and high school teacher who survived and thrived during the dreaded 2020 pandemic? How is it that I am able to go to bed at night comforted by the fact that what I did today mattered?

Well, for me it came down to identifying the most important parts of my life and creating a no excuses checklist of tiny tasks to complete every day. Through a constant cycle of successes, I was able to gain the momentum I needed to manage every major challenge, from redesigning educational programs to writing my first eulogy.

Work, health, kids, partner, wellbeing, and family and friends. These were, and continue to be, the most important parts of my life, and every day, no matter what, I serve each area in small but significant ways. With every action I tick off on my list, I accept wholeheartedly the waves of accomplishment that rush through me. Every win, no matter how big or small, should be celebrated. Most people know this when it comes to the little people in their lives, but somehow forget it when they themselves are the champions of those moments.

So, let’s get down to the nitty gritty of it all. How did I get through the global pandemic with my sanity intact? What was my list?

Work: Create at least one new resource.

Health: a) Drink water. b) Eat all three meals. c) Wake up 30 minutes early and complete a 12 minute dumbbell workout.

Kids: a) Sing a song to each of them at bedtime. b) Ask about their day. Share goods and bads at the dinner table, finding at least as many goods as bads.

Partner: Play a game of ‘Three’ together.

Wellbeing: a) Write down something different that I’m grateful for every morning. b) Spend two minutes focusing on my breathing, eyes closed, somewhere outside (even if it’s just on a balcony or porch).

Family and friends: Check in on someone. Shoot them a text asking how they are.

The longest of my daily rituals takes twelve minutes, which was easily found by making a minor adjustment to my day. Most just take two. Two minutes is all it takes to receive that initial rush of pride. Two minutes to focus on the positives. Two minutes to connect with your children. Two minutes to make someone’s day. With just two minutes you begin to change your habits and your experience of life.

Day one was a breeze. I was excited and knew with every fibre of my being that building these positive habits would change my life, and as long as the novelty of the experience held, nothing could stop me. As we all know, short bursts of inspiration don’t last forever, but they don’t have to. All it took was committing to those actions on the first days that it became more difficult to say yes. Once I proved to myself that I could keep going, the momentum kicked in.

Before I knew it, I enjoyed saying yes. I actually felt better and those positive emotions pushed me forward. My daily habits became easy to maintain and the sense of accomplishment gained by celebrating every win brought with it the confidence to face life’s challenges without fear.

If I can do it with my ‘hey, a butterfly’ level attention span, you can too. Hit the reset button today and change your life.

You can be happy. You can be productive. You can be your own champion. Live.