Give Yourself a Gift: Time

by Skip Cohen

Ironically, through the year of the pandemic, most of us recognized we suddenly had time on our hands. Business for many came to a standstill for at least the first 60-90 days; then things started to change - everyone's focus became a little more precise with a wide depth of field, blurry in the background. You used the time to expand your skill set, think about your business, and strategize, and many of you worked hard in social media to build new relationships. It was also depressing, frustrating and confusing!

Like many of you, I found I was more in touch with friends and associates because I had the time to track them down. Facebook and LinkedIn became indispensable tools for relationship building and growth. And the phone came back into play for live conversations along with Facetime, Skype and Zoom.

Well, as we enter the first month of the wonder of post-pandemic life, there are too many of you jumping the gun and looking for life to get back to normal with the flip of a switch. I don't know if this is the right way to look at it or not, but I'm savoring every new day like a fine wine. I'm sipping it slowly and genuinely appreciating everything I missed over the last year.

Melody Beattie started me on this kick this morning:

The seeds of change grow gently, sometimes almost imperceptibly.
Birth takes time. Transformation takes time.

​Tomorrow is Memorial Day, and we've got neighbors coming over for a very traditional afternoon of burgers, dogs, brats, and Sheila's famous macaroni salad. Throw in a few beers and wine, and it's going to be a perfect day to kick back and laugh. And trust me, I'll savor every moment.

So, if you're the kind of person who's rushing to get everything back to normal, appreciate the "baby steps" and take it one day at a time. Business is coming back; there's a greater sense of family and friendship in the world, and we've all been through the most brutal year we'll hopefully ever face in our lifetimes!

Wishing everybody a wonderful Memorial Day weekend and time with friends and family who you appreciate the most. I know it sounds sappy and hokey, but we honestly are all going through a rebirth - so enjoy each step of the way. And as always - those eleven-second therapeutic hugs are back with a vengeance.  

According to Mindbodygreen.com, hugging therapy is definitely a powerful way of healing. Research shows that hugging (along with laughter) is extremely effective at healing sickness, disease, loneliness, depression, anxiety, and stress. Here's the link if you want to read more.

Happy Sunday everybody...or Monday if you're on the other side of the world.