I felt stuck in a cycle. Lockdown – each day relentless and mundane. I was exhausted, emotionally and physically. I coach people to thrive and increase their impact, yet I was​ a long​ way from thriving. I felt I was achieving nothing of value and was deeply tired and in need of rest. So when I realised my family and I wouldn’t be going to France as planned this year, I was hit by a wave of grief.

But what was it about a holiday I was craving? For our family, holidays are a change of pace, no commitments, memory-making fun, a variety of food and guilt-free treats. My children’s enjoyments come from buying a holiday magazine, face painting, swimming and even an evening disco. Holidays give us all permission to break from ‘maintaining normal life’ such as chores, house admin and replying to emails.

Then a thought came to me… why can’t this still happen even at home?

Well to do this, I needed to shift a gear in our home life. This meant making the following conscious choices to change:

• I chose to have fun – prioritising face painting, random walks, silly games and dancing at a home disco with my children over mundane distractions around the house.
• I chose to say no – turning over my ​to do ​list and putting my phone away for periods of the day​ (I was on holiday, no one needed an instant reply).
• I chose to rest – alternating who got up with the children in the mornings, adopting habits we saved for holiday evenings like resting with great books and enjoying games instead of watching tv.
• I chose to experience new things – finding new places to have adventures and eating different foods – croissants make sandwiches look so boring!
• I chose to give myself some much-needed head space – taking my youngest for a walk in the pram so I could take in the scenery, listen to music or call friends and family at my own pace, sitting on my front step with a cuppa for a few minutes of fresh air, saying hello to people walking past. I created a moment to pause.

Through this, I learned that it​ is possible to do ‘holiday’ while still being at home and find rest.

Are you feeling stuck right now? Feeling like you’re in ​Groundhog​ Day?

Getting unstuck can simply start when you begin to shift your perspective. To the world it may seem as though nothing has changed and yet to you everything has, and hope starts to rise. Think of it like changing one degree on a compass: with each degree change the final destination alters dramatically.

What small tweak can you make today to shift your perspective to a hope-filled one for the days ahead?

This blog is part of our Covid Considerations series and is written by Jennie Sanderson. Jennie loves to coach individuals to reconnect to how they thrive as the people they were created to be and who want to see their impact grow, both in a home and/or work setting. Follow Jennie on Twitter @jenniethecoach and visit her website http://www.jennie-coach.com/

Photo by Suzy Hazlewood