A few weeks ago, I woke up early on a Sunday morning to get in a walk around our neighborhood alone and afterwards I was able to squeeze in a quiet moment to complete a grief exercise that was shared by my friend, Kathe Wunnenberg, on social media.
One of the things I’d noticed since our lives have been so dramatically impacted by COVID-19, was that my energy was off and I couldn’t figure out why.
In her post, Kathe shared an exercise that she completed, where she drew tombstones on a sheet of paper and wrote down her disappointments or losses in this season and gave herself permission to grieve. It could be things such as hugs, or going to the office, lost income, cancelled/rescheduled events and so on.
When I saw her post, a light bulb went off, for I finally realized that the feeling I’d been feeling was grief. And while I have a lot to be grateful for, I’ve also experienced losses/disappointments that I’m also grieving as we adjust to this new way of life and business.
Furthermore, as a leader, before I could show up fully for my family, team, clients and community, I first needed to address my own emotions by giving myself the space and grace to grieve. I was so quick to jump into “fix it” mode, that I hadn’t given myself the time and space I needed to address my own emotions.
Today, as we prepare to enter another week filled with uncertainties, I invite you to take a moment if you need it and allow yourself to grieve. Maybe like me and Kathe, you’ll draw the tombstones on a sheet of paper or in your journal and write out those disappointments or losses that you may be grieving in this season. It did my heart a great deal of good and I hope it does your heart some good too.
Dr. Nadia Brown is the founder of The Doyenne Agency, a global sales and sales training firm serving service-based businesses. She’s also Dai’jah and Lyric’s Momtie (Mom/Auntie). Dr. Nadia recently started sharing resources for moms during this turbulent time. To sign up for the newsletter, visit: https://bit.ly/momtieadventure.
