This has been a good week for me, so far- especially when you start counting with last Wednesday, January 20th.  It’s been good news on the international front (except for the issues in Russia) and even COVID has taken a downturn in numbers. Personally, I have a few new clients and a few repeaters, so that is also good news, not to mention one of my children turned 25 on the 20th..

Also, for a Minnesotan-born and raised woman, the best part has been the weather - the snow.  We have snow and it’s been around for a while, long enough for snow forts, sledding runs, igloos and snow people to have been made and still remain.  It’s lovely, and the snow is (mostly) still white because it keeps on snowing.  What a treat! For me, the snow covers the gray world and makes it bright, and it’s not really cold here, either, at least when you compare it to Minnesota.

We need to look at the good in our days and weeks and focus on that as much as possible to move through the tough times- these times where we are not allowed to meet others as we would like to, times where loved ones are ill, or we are even losing them to COVID or something else.

When there is sad or difficult news, how can you notice it and yet not obsess on it?  It IS important to reflect on our sad and angry emotions, and perhaps you have had these emotions recently.  We need to notice them, where they come from and then we can (hopefully) start to move on.  But the noticing is important.

If you spend your time fighting your negative emotions, you waste time and energy, so it’s better to sit with your anger or sadness for a while, and then (hopefully) move to the positive, when you are ready. 

There are things that are right and just to be angry and/or sad about.  When we take the time to notice the emotion, that allows us to think about its origin and to reflect on the situation and the consequences of our emotions and of our actions.  This allows us to learn and to grow, and that is one of the important parts of life.

Henry Cloud says it this way, “The person who ultimately does well is the one who can learn from his own experience or the experience of others, make that learning a part of himself, and then deliver results from that experience base. And that requires being open to feedback.” (from “Necessary Endings”, his italics).

I think we are all growing and learning till the end of our lives and so the above way to look at life and experience(s) is a very helpful outlook one - and one that allows us all to move forward, even in tough times, even with difficult news.  And the good days - and weeks - give us a break and the energy needed to move forward, onward and upward in tough times.

Wishing you a positive and growing week,

Patricia Jehle               patricia@jehle-coaching.com