Building Resilience

I’ve had long Covid since Aug 2020.

Every 3 months, I get severe brain fog and fatigue that lasts 1-2 weeks. (I’m on day 12 of one now.)

I feel fine in the morning. By early afternoon, all I can do is lay on the couch.

I can’t read, journal, or meditate. All I can do is lie there watching movies and flipping through IG or dating apps.

And if there’s one surefire way to tank your mental health, it’s to spend 1-2 weeks on the couch flipping through social media and dating apps.

The doctors at one of the top covid hospitals threw up their hands and said, “Sorry, nothing we can do.”

So I’m exploring alternatives.

Maybe an element of this is psychosomatic. Maybe Chinese medicine has some answers. Maybe there’s a soul lesson I’m refusing to learn causing this to repeat.

Scoff if you want. I’ve met enough people who had great results with these avenues after hospitals failed them.

The one nice thing about these episodes is this:

I can bounce back strong.

Because I’ve built a solid foundation in different life areas.

I got a job I love. And 90% of the stuff I do day-to-day are things I enjoy. (That other 10% I’m learning to make it enjoyable.)

Then I got improv, great friends, jiu jitsu, a decent enough diet, D&D, various Pirate and Dwarven Metal concerts… it’s a good, balanced life.

That balance helps me be resilient. And it raises the bar for my baseline happiness. 

I didn’t always have it. And I see a lot of people in the online business world who don’t.

They’ve been focused on business for so long that other areas fell through the cracks.

They don’t exercise. Or see friends. Or have hobbies. Or have much fun in their lives at all.

They’re constantly stressed. Handling one obligation after another. Ensure everyone around them is taken care of while they burn out.

They may not even have anyone to talk to about this stuff. Because they don’t want to dump all their stuff onto their partner. So the pressure builds and builds…

Then when trouble hits — there’s a down month, an ex-partner starts drama, they get sick — they spiral out.

They feel like everything is crashing down.

Wonder if it’s even worth continuing.

Because they’re spent. 

For most of us, having balance isn’t a luxury. 

It’s a necessity.

It’s gives you energy and resilience to get through the hard stuff.

It raises your baseline happiness. So you can show up as your best at work and with your family.

And it lets you enjoy the journey along the way.

If you want help getting your work/life balance in order, fill out this form. I’ve worked on this a lot with clients. We’ll see if coaching is a good fit.