3 Things A Tough Person Does To Make It In Tough Times

For exactly two years, I have been saying those very words to myself.

Two years.

733 days to be exact.

But you know what has propelled me forward during this still very tough tough season?

Action.

While inspirational words and memes are very good to soothe you in a moment, action is the only real anecdote for tough times. Here are three actions I've taken that have helped me in my seemingly never ending "tough season."

Acceptance

I have stopped resisting all the turmoil. Early in this season, I'd fight fiercely to move forward and "be done" with all that is going on around me. Ironically, personally speaking it's not let up one bit. My avoidance and fighting has not changed any circumstance or outcome. And while I'd love to tell you I believe my season is due for a change, I don't. I have accepted that this season could very well be my new normal and that I need to get some better coping mechanisms in place.  I have also accepted that looking for "relief" from the onslaught of difficulty was not helping.  Breathing and learning to face what was and continues to happen to me and around me has helped me tremendously. The energy I use to use to fight or resist has been redirected to my work and my relationships. My first reaction to difficulty now is to sit and marinate in it. Allow myself to feel it. And whatever comes next, roll with it. Meaning if I need to cry and check out of life for an hour - so be it. If I have to take a walk and call my BFF to vent. So be it. If I fill 10 journal pages processing it out of my mind so I can get back to work. On it. But resisting or fighting is no longer an option.

Manage Energy

Time has started to blur for me. In the past I would take pride on my time management skills and how efficient I believed myself to be with my time.  With the onslaught of complexity in my life and one difficulty after another, I realized that it was not my time that needed managing, it was my energy. Really getting judicious around what, how and who I spent energy on would prove to be one of the biggest actions to help me during my tough time. Work tasks have become more organized and intentional. Personal interactions have really focused on people who lift me and feed my soul. I have not been the friend I used to be in this season because I have very little margin. Replenishment activities have been come very important.  My energy now is almost this imaginary tank next to me and I can look at it and see when it's running low. Yoga and Pilates fuel me. Radical self care trips out of town fuel me. Self care rituals locally fuel me. I now actively seek out conversations that raise my energy and refill the tank before it empties. I also allow others to help me. 


Enlist Help

I struggle asking for help. It is has never been a strong suit of mine and this prolonged tough season is the thing that finally broke me. This is a new thing for me in the last 30 days. The 703 days of this tough season found me pushing through exhausted, irritable and feeling alone even with people literally begging me to help.

What can I do?

Most days, I dread that question. I don't need anyone to help me. I'm an oldest child. I run my own business. I help people run their businesses. Stopping to think about how people could help me was literally freezing me up; rendering me immobile. Local friends asked. Friends from across the country asked. Most often I brushed folks off with - "you can pray, thanks." But then I realized how lazy that was of me. I am separating and moving forward as a single mom after 16 years in a couple. There is a SHIT ton of stuff people can do. I just needed to get out of my head and stop the jerk reactions. As the new month started, I vowed not to answer right away - because I'd found that every time someone asked me to help, within a day or two afterwards something did come up that I could use extra hands or brain power around. The pause.

Instead of my usual retort - I thanked people and said, "there is nothing now but I will keep you in mind if something comes up." Not only did "something come up", I also started to notice things I just did unconsciously that others could help me with. So I got help moving a couch. Picking peaches. Making meals. Rides for my kids.  Many people offer and are willing to help. Most often it's us that stand in the way.

I have come to believe that my "tough season" is no longer a "tough season" but my new normal. And I know the action I am taking is equipping to be successful in this new era of my life.  

Please Call Me When The World Is Normal Again

No, really. Call me when it's ok to come out.

9 black people were murdered in during their bible study by unknown stranger they worshiped with for over an hour in a historically significant church in Charleston, SC.

Fierce debates over flying the Rebel Confederate Flag on government properties.

Walmart, Amazon and other retailer rush to remove Confederate Flag from sales lines.

U.S. Supreme Court upholds legality of Affordable Care Act. Again.

6 other black churches  torched across other Southern U.S. cities in the 10 days following the #CharlestonMassacre.

U.S. Supreme Court paves the way for same-sex marriage recognitions as federal law.

Bipartisan Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement passes almost undetected.

Yeah.

I'm gonna need another few weeks to process all that has taken place in the last 11 days in the United States of America.  In fact, I'm actually gonna take the rest of the summer "off." Well, not off from work or the major transition my family is embarking on in the next 39 days, but off from news and current events.

There is only so much an activist, Type A, do something gal like me can take. My head is literally spinning at all the information and endless commentary surrounding each and every topic listed above. My normal "to read" least is bursting at the seams and appears to be growing daily, yet my time to get to all that reading done seems to be shrinking.

A growing, thriving business to drive.

Public service in way of elected and appointed offices.

A weary marriage season.

Two amazing young people to shield from chaotic world and scary personal terrain.

An aching body and tired mind to keep sharp for all those things simply cannot process another world or current event in U.S. popular culture.

Uncle.

Please call me when the world in normal again.

Yeah, pretty sure my phone will never ring.

So, instead, I am implementing new rules for the remainder of this summer (or at least the next 8 weeks until Barreto kids go back to school). Only critical reading that will serve me, my family or my clients. Frequent walks in between all the hustle and bustle of my life. More time offline daily (haven't figured this one out yet but setting the intention and putting it into the Universe gives me a shot at reaching it.) More hugs. More conversations versus texts.

I feel better already having laid that out. I'd love to hear how others are coping this summer. Leave your thoughts below.