#629: 15 Things You Can Do Right Now to Emerge Ahead After the Pandemic

Hoping you guys had a chance to listen to episode 628 about how we can be inside of ourselves right now, about what we're offering, what we're contributing. But the other end of that is, oh, my goodness, practical. What are we doing at home? How are we handling things when you have kids, when you have downtime, when people are saying, don't go out? Well, I thought I'd do something eminently practical and share with you a little list that I myself have put together for me, my family, anybody else who wants to share some of these ideas, welcome to it. And we're going to be exploring right now, episode629, 15 things you can do right now to emerge ahead after the pandemic. Flow Dreaming. It's a show where we talk about the power of your mind to change your world around you, to literally affect the fabric of your reality. We talk about this feeling of hope and joy and relief. And that is what being aware of your flow does. It gives you a feeling of power again in your lives. Breathe. I'm Summer McStravik and welcome to another episode of Flow Dreaming. Okay, before we drop into today's episode any further, I wanna tell you about a new playlist that I just created. As you know, I have been home self isolating and also recovering from my own illness. And it made me really kind of remember that I need to keep it fresh as well. So I made an entire new playlist just for really what we're experiencing. I made it for because I realized I needed it. And I'm also making it for you. It's called Powerful immunity and protection Meditation playlist. So we're looking at three different meditations. One of them is for your body, one of them is for your energetic self, and the last is for your emotional self. So these are the three areas where we need to be strong, right? Where we wanna be fully pumped up, where we want to have the most powerful pact immunity. Any of these areas goes down and we become susceptible. So, gosh, this is like one of the easiest things we can be doing right now to protect ourselves and protect others. So please go check it out at my shop, flowdreaming.com or open up the app on your phone and you'll find it there. It's called the Powerful immunity and protection meditation playlist. And quick note, yeah, it's a meditation because I know a lot of us are burdened right now with a lot of other thoughts and I wanted to make it as easy as possible. I want you to fall asleep Listening to this, like, you don't even have to meditate. Just get it in your mind, right? Let it start seeping into you. So with that, let's go ahead and get started. Right? So sometimes practical stuff is what we really need to stay grounded. Practical, powerful things that we can do where when we emerge from something where a lot of people are just kind of hiding and swimming around in the big pond of fear, we were doing something else. We were not hiding in a big pond of fear. We were actually going inward and using that time, using that space. Even if it's being enforced on us, we can use it, and we should be. So I'm gonna share with you some things that I am doing right now for myself, but also my family, right? Because I've got two teenagers that I need to be entertaining for weeks, if not months. So let's get started. All right? Very first thing I want to suggest is that our connectivity does not go down. In fact, it may go up. I know even though we're not seeing people, normally, you know, everything is closed, but we still have a lot of connectivity. And now we're really being asked to use it. Have fun with it, right? Use it positively and well. And one of the ways you can do that is to actually have a virtual party with your friends. I mean, I'm serious. Grab a glass of wine, cup of tea, get all your friends together, have a Skype call, have a FaceTime call, have a Zoom call. I love Zoom. Make it a virtual book club, make it a girls night out, make it a game day. But all we have to do is set up a laptop and there you go, everybody is around. And we've become used to using these virtual services for work, right? You know, connecting remotely. At least some of us have. I have, because I've built my whole company on, you know, a kind of virtual team for the most part. But we haven't really used them in our social lives quite as much, you know, with the exception of some FaceTime calls. But even then, it's like, well, only if you're overseas. Start using them more regularly. Have fun with it. I mean, your friends will be, like, kind of excited. We're gonna have a virtual wine night. Yeah, you, me and Clarissa, we're gonna get together and we're gonna, like, you know, hang out, share, try it out. The next thing I have for you old school types, you're like, I hate virtual stuff. Summer, there's no way you're gonna get me on Skype resume. So, old school, pull out a Great book. Start reading it with your family. So my grandparents used to do something when I was young and I'd stay over with them. They would sit up in bed and I would squish my little 5 year old self between them and they had a book and they would read aloud to each other from the book each night. And then of course, they'd continue reading their own books. But it was a shared experience and I thought it was just fascinating that two grownups would read out loud to each other. But you know what? It's kind of cool. So I'm going to encourage you. Do this with your partner. If you have kids, pick a book you can all enjoy, right? Pretend like you live in 1810. Everybody's going to get together and read. Pick a book you can all enjoy. You know, pick Jurassic Park. Pick a Harry Potter book. Go for an old classic like Moby Dick or Sherlock Holmes. See what it does to your family. Bringing you guys together. All right, next up, again, this is just a free for all fun list, right? All right, next up, another idea that you can play with. As long as we're speaking of books. You've had a book in you for a long time, haven't you? Maybe it's a hot romance. Maybe it's a compilation of all of the blogs that you've been writing about a certain subject over the years. Maybe it's a mystery. Maybe it's time to write it. Maybe it's time to sit down and say, okay, that food blog that's going to become a podcast, Maybe you're a gamer. Why not put together a YouTube series? You can do all of these things without leaving the house. How about this one? Clean out the garage and closets. Oh, my gosh. I know. You're like, summer, really give me some fun things. That's. I mean, I don't want to do that. Hey, some of us get really comfortable. We feel relaxed if we can organize and clean things, right? This is your moment, if that's you. But for others, you know what? I know that you might be wanting to hunker down and hoard things and kind of pull back and getting rid of things and cleaning things is the last thing that feels comfortable. But you can always organize. You can always put things in their place that can make you feel very comfortable right now. So pick something and do it. How about planting a garden? Maybe you've got some seed packets from last spring. Why don't you get them in? Or you can start weeding, you know, prepping one of my email Readers newsletter readers wrote me a comment saying that she's in France and. And she says, I'm going to be potting around the garden quite a bit. I'm like, you do it. That's a fantastic idea. This one, I have to just throw it in because it's making me laugh. You guys know that tax day is coming up, right? I mean, we're like a month away or less. You can do your taxes. You can actually be early this year. That's actually something that's going to go on my list. What we're doing here, by the way, is we are taking advantage of enforced downtime. Downtime that normally we'd want to go places, to go on a vacation, do something. And yet here we are with ourselves. And being with ourselves can sometimes be one of the hardest places to be, frankly, especially if that self is filled with fear. Especially if you're the linchpin in the family and everybody else is filled with fear. And you have to be the one who is not. So while this list seems kind of silly, it's actually, I hope, really important because it's giving you a roadmap of ways that you can utilize this downtime where when it's over, you say, I got a lot done. We actually got ahead. Wow. Who knew it could have been this impactual for us in a positive way? And that's what I'm looking for. And when we do these practical things like this, it gives us a real solid, visceral, physical sense that we're doing okay. So partly what we're doing is we're managing our hearts and our minds and our emotional selves going into flow. But the other half is doing physical things that reassure our physical selves, our physical life, that we're also on top of things. All right, so that was the aside again. Now back to the list. I want you guys to think up a super cool online business idea, right? I want you to start that micro business, right? People are still going to need stuff. All these kids are home from school. Well, if they're like my daughter, she has already found all the bathing suits she wants to wear online. She has an Amazon list for me of things that she's wanting. Doing a little online window shopping, which I'm just receiving. Not sure if she's getting them yet, but people are out there is what I'm saying. Just because we're holding back doesn't mean we're not still spending. If anything, we're spending on different things than before. And maybe those different things are right. Up your alley. Maybe this is it. Maybe you know how to write, you know, or teach people how to play the flute. And you're gonna put together a series of videos on, you know, flute playing 101. And there you go. You emerge with a whole new direction that you would never have encountered or even thought to actually get off the ground had it not been for this. So I'm very serious. I really believe that micro businesses, those of us who have knowledge that we're sharing, I think that we are going to look back at this time and see it as an enormous sort of fertilization out there, like seeds planted with millions of people who suddenly have time on their hands, who suddenly realized, oh, that idea wasn't so ridiculous after all. Especially because I've been a little nervous about my job and the economy, so maybe I really ought to get this going. Little tiny businesses that don't cost hardly anything to get started, all going in and being planted into the beautiful ground at the same time. We're about to hit a renaissance. Why don't you be part of it? How about speaking of online, you guys play any online games? I do. I've played Words with Words with Friends. You can play online other forms of Scrabble or cards, multiplayer apps. Right. I play one pretty, pretty often, I shouldn't admit. But it got me sucked in, and I have a really good time. Think about it, especially if you're, you know, a little bit older like myself, play an online game. It's actually more fun than you realize. And it's not just for young'. Uns. I thought so, too. Refresh your recipes and sort your cupboards. This is one that I'm also gonna be doing right. I've been looking through all my canned goods and you know, you know those canned goods, the ones expired last month and now you're sitting on the fence. Should I eat them? How good are they after they expire? Well, this is time to figure out why you stock them in the first place. Go through, clean and reorganize all of your cupboards and find some new recipes. Buy stock. I know these ideas are all over the board, but, you know, we're playing here. Buy stock. I'm very serious. You're never going to see prices like this again. Now's the time I'm going to be buying stock. Put together a movie playlist that your kids would never have discovered if it wasn't for you. Gremlins. Big Time Bandits, Stardust. Pull out some old favorites and start having movie night with Each other. If you don't have kids, do it with a partner, right? Do it with a best friend or whoever you might be limiting your exposure to. Hmm. How about some long overdue home improvements? Like, you know, restaining the patio furniture, weeding the yard, sewing on buttons. You don't have to do these all at once, but you could do one or two a day. Here's the point. You've opened your bandwidth. Chances are great that many of us listening right now have extra time right now in our day because we're not doing all the regular things we used to do. You either fill that extra time in your day with morbidly going through the news and getting worried and freaked out, or you fill it with things that are gonna advance you, that are gonna help you. That's what we're talking about. Okay, so this is a really interesting idea. And I personally. This is another one I'm doing myself. I am going to be putting together eight to 10amazing outfits from my closet. I'm taking them, you know, pants, shirts, earrings, shoes, the whole. The whole thing. And I'm laying them out on the floor and I'm taking a photo of them. So this is something professionals do. If they're helping you organize your closet, get together some good looks, right? It's called getting together your own lookbook. And you know, most of us, we just pull our clothes together, we go to a few old favorites, but we never quite do them the same every day. We're not really, you know, we're just, let's face it, it's early and we're getting dressed and whatever goes on goes on, and we hope it matches. But now let's say you have eight, 10 photos that you've printed out and you're looking at and you're like, oh, yeah, this one, this one, this one. You don't have to think twice about it. Plus, upside makes you feel really happy and positive with your clothes. Again, you recognize. I really do have some things that go together, look good. I have some complete outfits, and that bolsters my self esteem and makes me feel better. All right, couple more ideas here. I want you to write some loving and calming affirmations. Oh, right? Now is the time for self care. Affirmations. Affirmations are reminders. They are, I call them energy anchors, meaning it's not so much the affirmation work itself, which you can certainly do if you're familiar with it. But I write affirmations as reminders. Oh, yeah. Go into that feeling state. Oh, yeah. I Am healthy. Oh yeah. I am well. Oh yeah. Things are going to be okay. Oh yeah. All this will pass. Oh yeah. We will be returning to normal. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. And every time I remind myself of that, my thoughts, my heart, my energy goes to that. And when it goes to that, I begin to co create that. That's the purpose for my affirmations. So go ahead and write some. And here's one more idea. If you have somebody at home that you love, make some hot chocolate. Go sit outside, go gaze at the stars together. Ask each other random questions like how much would you pay for a round trip to the moon? Don't talk about the things you have to do, the bills you have to pay. The dog needs a wash. Don't talk about that stuff. Talk about what if you only had one fruit that you could eat for the rest of your life, what would it be? Talk about what if you had to live in a country for three years, not the one you're currently in? Which one would you have? Which one would you choose? Things like that, right? Re get to know each other. Re get to know each other. It's the kind of thing you do when you're starting to date someone. Well, redate them. So there is a list of 15 ideas. Some may strike you, but I hope it's getting you thinking that being at home or, you know, social distancing, etc. Does not have to be isolating. Social distancing does not have to be isolating. In fact, it can be expansive. And when life is asking you to go inward, asking all of us to pull back into our homes, the question is not, oh, no, how am I going to get through this? The question is, oh, wow, what's all the stuff here that I have completely forgotten about in this part of my life? How do I renew this? How do I enrich this? How do I make it so that this becomes an amazing experience for myself and my family? Something I can look back on and say, I remember, what did you do during that time when that, you know, the virus came out? And I say, oh, man, I had the most amazing time with my family that I've ever had. Wow. I got more done in my house than I've done in a year. Whoa. I actually got the seed for my new company together. I want you to think about, what's your answer to that question? Because this is here for you right now. This is like a golden pot of leprechaun gold. It's here. Take it. What are you gonna do with it? So Start with these ideas. Add your own. Add plenty of your own. In fact, I'd love it if you just, you know, shared with me. Go to my. Go to my Facebook page. Go to iloveflowdreaming. It's the group that I have. It's where we talk and interact more than just like the regular flow dreaming. YouTube. Did I say YouTube? I meant Facebook. Or did I say YouTube? I don't remember what I said now, but I'm talking about Facebook. Go to the I love Flow Dreaming page on Facebook and comment. Tell me, what are you doing? Like, what are you guys doing? Give us some amazing things that we can share. Let's build each other up with this. Let's see how strong we can actually emerge. So the last, last, last thing not included in the list because this one is bigger than the list. Are you flow dreaming? Are you getting in your flow? Maybe a little bit. I want you to. I want you to close your eyes tonight in the shower and just drift. Remind yourself of what it's like to feel really good and positive. I want you to flow dream this morning when you're doing the breakfast dishes, closing your eyes and just letting the warm sink water flow over a plate in your hands, and you're feeling like, I've got this. We've got this. Curious where it all goes, but I feel good. I feel strong. I have powerful immunity. I have powerful social connections. This is an opportunity for me. What am I going to be like in this opportunity? What will I fill it with? Right? Flow on that. Flow to allow in all the best things. Flow to allow in the right changes, the right pivots, the right directions, the right choices. Flow to allow in a feeling of safety, of trust, of confidence. Flow. Okay, my darlings, I hope you enjoyed this little bit of an offbeat, semi irreverent episode. Not really. Because like I told you, sometimes the physical things need to be done too. Co creating is non physical and physical. And when you do these physical things, they're very grounding. And you need that kind of empowerment too. All right, my love to you all. I'm gonna see you all next time for another episode of Flow Dreaming. Until then, stay well, be well and give love out to everyone around you. Hey, friends, a couple things to tell you about that I think you'll really enjoy. Flow Dreaming is a universe, actually. In other words, yes, there is a technique, but it's also an entire community of those of us who flow. Dre and I have a lot to give you to get you started. That's 100% free. So if you go to flowdreaming.com, the first thing you need to do is download my free kit that teaches you how to Flow Dream. It contains an audio of a Flow dream that's been recorded called Positive Flow just to get you right into flow state in under 15 minutes. It also includes a tutorial and a PDF guidebook. Now if you're on your mobile device right now, you can also get it by just going to the App Store and downloading the Flow Dreaming app and it will come preloaded with this wonderful kit for you to learn the process. The next thing I wanted to mention for you is that MI School is my active, gorgeous, beautiful community of Flow Dreamers and we learn together, we share and we grow in into our manifestational, our co creational and mostly our own deep, immense inner power. We do this together in a mentorship type school type format. But believe me, no tests, no quizzes, it's the best place you've ever been to. It calls itself a school, but it's really the place where you will completely transform yourself from inside out. So check that out too. Last of all, I hope I see you guys on Facebook or Instagram. Just look up summer McStravic or flow dreaming and come say hi to me there. Until next time. My love to you all.