Yes, this new normal is hard, weird and difficult.
In the beginning of this season of COVID-19 here in Portugal I wrote about how we were all going through different stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. I wrote about how early in the month of March I had to cancel a work trip and miss out on a training, and how furious I felt then: I was, at that point, between denial (this is just "a flu") and anger (how can they do this to me?). One week later, after reading all there was to read on the virus, I became ready to bargain: OK, lets close down schools and protect our own. When I experienced social isolation I was so sad: I'm an extrovert! I need to be around people - different people, lots of people! Now, after almost one month I'm happy to be healthy, to have mine around me and to still be able to work remotely (for the time being).
Knowing that coaching is a helpful tool to deal with change, learn to adapt and to help regulate emotions I started on-line group coaching support sessions:
* in quarantine and crisis time, learn about coaching.
We have had two successful sessions so far, bringing together people from all over the continent, islands and in Guinea-Bissau.
In our first session, we spoke about active listening and validation, and about the impact of using these skills on ourselves and on those around us.
In our second session, we spoke about powerful questions (briefly) and used the framework of the circle of influence and concern (by Stephen Covey), to practice them:
In our third session, tomorrow, we will talk again about powerful questions and focus on decluttering our space (yes, even if it is limited) to increase our focus and attention.
These sessions take place in Portuguese, on Wednesdays, from 1-1:45 pm.
It is a free resource.
The main goal is to facilitate connection and teach a few (simplified) coaching skills to better manage and help yourself and others in this difficult time.
Stay safe, stay strong and join us if you'd like (and if you speak Portuguese)!
(PM me for more info)
