By Samantha Taylor
As we think about what has happened in this country in the last eight weeks, it’s rather humbling to see how much has changed and how many parts of our lives have been affected. The question is, how do we process all of this? How do we deal with what has happened not only to our nation, but also our communities and our families?
It’s not an easy question to answer because each person’s life has been affected so differently, whether they’ve lost a job, lost all social connection and been left lonely or depressed, or too much closeness to family is driving them crazy, or they’ve gained a bunch of weight with this house lockdown.
Small businesses have been impacted beyond measure. The stress that my business has been under has been intense as well — five personal training studios, with many members, 22 trainers and other valued employees. We have had to pivot immediately and move to only online training for our clients, and while they love the support, it’s not the same as being face to face. We have rallied around them, offering cooking classes, emotional support with mindset webinars on how to get motivated, how to deal with stress and how to have peace in this difficult time (find that webinar at the link below).
The one thing I have been reminded of in processing all of this is that it’s not just happening to me or you; it’s happening to people all over this country and all over this world. None of us wanted something like this to happen, and we cannot control that it is happening. That is the part that’s been so difficult, I know. The only thing we can do when a crisis happens is control how we respond to it. We look for what we CAN do, make adjustments to live the best we can within it, and move forward.
Life is different now and will probably remain different in certain ways for the rest of the year, depending on how severe your personal situation is. I’ve had to learn in life how to not have a victim mentality and to focus on moving forward in difficult times to not let the circumstance “take me down” with them.
Nobody wants to be in this situation, but what you can’t do is let it destroy too many parts of your life, whether emotional or physical. Don’t allow yourself to lose health you can control — it’s very easy to let yourself feel isolated and eat emotionally, which can lead to weight gain and health problems. It’s brutal for all of us, I know, but you don’t want to cause yourself more issues or stress.
Just ask yourself, “What can I do differently today from yesterday that will leave me stronger and healthier tomorrow?” Think of ways you can still improve in life and move forward, so that when you do get on the other side of this, you don’t have as big of a mess to clean up. We will get through this together, we will be okay! Sometimes you have to remind yourself of that when things are intense.
By the time you read this, our studios will be open again (mid-May). We have five private fitness studios for women, and we will be upholding extreme cleaning measures and safety protocols to help all our members, old and new, get back to working out safely. Being in a private studio could help your comfort level as you return to your fitness journey and we would love to help you. And if you are already a member, thank YOU for being a part of our health and fitness family. We honor, respect and adore you. : ) www.SamanthaTaylorFitness.com/BeStrong