Find Your Anchors
Most stories begin with the “before” world—an image of the world before everything changed.
This is one of those before pictures. All three of my children, standing on the big sign in front of the elementary school where my daughter still attends. It was my middle child’s last year there, and that evening, he and his 5th grade classmates performed songs, dances and skits at the PTA meeting.
All filters aside, the lighting was just right. No photo bombs. And my kids so willingly agreed to pose, knowing that if they complied, I’d get my shot and leave them alone. This photo feels ominous now—taken last year, days before our governor shut down schools and ordered businesses to close.
Once you know something, you can’t unknow it.
We entered 2021, knowing how quickly things can change. We know that despite all of our plans, we control very little. We know that we don’t know for certain what will happen next month, next week, or tomorrow...
How do we stay grounded when the ground can shift at any time? For me, it has helped to find my anchors. Here are two ways that I did that in 2020:
✨ In a crisis, the priorities become clear. So for me, the daily tasks of taking care of my home and family (even the ones that I’d previously cast aside as mundane) became critical to maintaining my mental health and well-being. If I can attribute that to anything, it was the simple act of being present. 2020 forced me into the now-moment of life like never before.
✨ I identified a few things that I could do at the same time each day. I borrowed this tip from my husband, who’s much more regimented. This practice, for me, was about stability and finding flow. I anchored down my day with my morning alarm, my workout, and my midday iced coffee treat.
My anchors have shifted with the seasons, and that’s a-okay. The key is picking a very small amount of things that happen at about the same time each day. One anchor is all you need.
xo,
