Rhythm

Our rhythm involves a strong, regular, repeated pattern. We develop our rhythm through lots of trial and error over periods of time. Some of our rhythms were forged early in life through our repeated patterns. We all have routines, that regular course of action we have built in our lives. I have a daily routine of going to my favorite coffee shop and having coffee, reading, and then organizing my day. At the end of the day my routine involves hitting the gym, throwing some iron, and doing some cardio, in the evening, dinner at home or out with friends, and then Netflix.

Natural routine and rhythm busters are leaving high school and going to the university, leaving the fraternity and moving into an apartment, graduating and moving to a new city and starting a job, moving from being single to having a girlfriend or boyfriend, engagement and marriage. The list goes on and on because change is always occurring, it never stops, and it can be painful. Change can involve modifying or becoming completely different, to replace. It doesn’t mean it is bad, many times it is for the better, but the reality is we don’t like it and many times resist it. Probably because it brings us face to face with the unknown. But a good reminder is, successful people aren’t born that way. They become that way by building habits most people don’t have.

Fear and Anxiety

When we are in the arena of change many times fear and anxiety surfaces and
speaks because of the unknown. Fear doesn’t mean there is a lack of courage, it
simply means courage needs to lead you, not fear. Call out your brave!
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change”
Wayne Dyer

Disequilibrium

Disequilibrium is like losing your balance and falling off the balance beam, or being shouldered in the basketball game, or bumped in the cross-country race or shoved in the football game. Bottomline, we were thrown off, disrupted from our course of action.

And here we be, totally disrupted, thrown off from our normality from the coronavirus. We are in disequilibrium!

We all have a daily rhythm, routine that creates stability. We like routines because we know what we are going to do and when we are going to doing it. 

So, what areas of your lives has been in disequilibrium?

It’s all out of whack!

#1 Living at home, I love my family, but…
#2 No Bar scene.
#3 My study zone is gone.
#4 Missing my hang out friends.
#5 Women.
#6 Online classes.
#7 Sleep pattern has changed.
#8 The gym.
#9 All the fraternity activities.
#10 No job, no money.
#11 My whole family is at home working on-line

How can this disruption, the loss, affect me?

1. Throws off endorphins.
2. Creates anxiety.
3. Sadness because of losses.
4. Frustration due to having to figure out new systems.
5. Annoyance that your social relationships have been changed.
6. Fear because of financial upheaval.
7. Feelings of depression.
8. Emotionally, mentally, and physically shutting down.
9. Stirs up new emotions you have not felt before.

Ideas in the Chaos

“All things are difficult before they are easy” 

Thomas Fuller

1. Go online and select exercise programs you can do at home.
2. Get outside and jog and walk the dog.
3. Figure out a new place to study, recreate a new study routine.
4. Be aware of your sleep patterns.
5. Go online and watch some anxiety reduction ideas.
6. Use apps to connect with friends.
7. App games or your game console
8. Organize your life, morning, afternoon, and evening and what you need to accomplish in each zone before bed.
9. Read.
10.  Reaffirm your spiritual life and let it speak.
11.  Netflix.
12.  Reflect on what you are learning about yourself.
13.  Work on any projects you have put on the back burner.
14.  Who are your battle buddies that keep you encouraged and accountable?
15.  Seek counsel and advise from older adults.
16.  How can I help my family?
17.  Contact your wellness office at your university or your medical professional.
18.  Identify any negative self-talk and turn it to positive self-talk.
19.  Who would be good to talk too and share your emotions?

20)Call and face time instead of texting so you can hear and see.

Chapter

1. Zoom a weekly exec team meeting.
2. Check out new apps, like Slack.
3. Zoom a chapter meeting.
4. Figure out new ways to Recruit.
5. Figure out what to do with new member education.
6. How do you maintain academic accountability?
7. What could you do philanthropically or civic service wise during this crisis?

Study tips

1. I lost my study buddy or group; use zoom and other platforms.
2. Figure out a new study zone place.
3. Don’t procrastinate.
4. Create a new study pattern, see if you can use some of your past pattern.
5. Don’t buy into the lie, because of taking the test online I can use notes or my phone so no need to study.
6. Find a daily accountability partner.
7. Email your professor or others if you don’t understand a concept in the lecture.
8. Organize your daily routine.
9. Monitor how much time and energy is being spent on Netflix and your other apps that distract you.
10.  Identify if you are self-medicating for your anxiety, your frustration with all the change, or your boredom?

Refection Questions

1. What am I learning about myself during this disruption?

2. Describe how you feel, your emotions, and why?

3. What character values do you need to embrace and implement?

4. What will it look like to create a new routine, and new strategy in each area of your life?

5. Who are my best friends I need to stay in communication with and why?

6. As a leader, what are the challenges I am facing and what do I need to do to lead my office during the disruption?

7. What can I be thankful for?

8. How can I help my family and those I love during this crisis?

9. Goals are achieved as a result of the culmination of those deliberate things we repeatedly do. Identify what you need to repeatedly do.

John R. Hatfield
BraveManSociety
719-233-1668

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