Create C.A.L.M.

Hey everyone, it's Susan checking in with you. If you've been like me over the last couple of weeks, you have ridden the roller coaster of the last few events and probably have kind of gone from the low of scared and sad and grieving to the high of look at the opportunities in the midst of all of this and let's create something new and better. So I too have certainly been there. Just wanted to offer my intention for this month, and that is to be calm and to create calm. And so my colleague James Beeman and I at the academies have developed a fun little quick CALM acronym that could be helpful, and I just want to share it with you and see if you can try it on yourself, try it with your clients, try it with your family members that you're sheltering in place with. So here's CALM. It stands for C, connect, A, aim, L, leverage, and M, move. So connect, ask the people around you, ask yourself, how are you really? And listen to how you are without any judgment and with great compassion. And then A, aim. What is it that you need this moment to be able to be successful? Finish the day and have— be able to say, I've done X, or finish the next couple of hours and say, I've done X. So really giving your brain a focus. And then L is leverage. So sort of tapping into your strengths, whether it's your CliftonStrengths or your VIA character strengths, like, how will I go about doing my X activity that I want to accomplish in the next few hours? Or even leveraging your resources and the people who love you and work with you and want to support you. Especially in a time when it's so easy to be disconnected. And then M is move. Simply do something, small step, manageable, that makes you feel empowered, that makes you feel like you're creating as opposed to reacting. So that's it. Connect, aim, leverage, and move. Wishing you absolute peace and calm and wellness.