Austin Life Coach Gives Recommendations for Living Through COVID-19

By Hope Lenamon

Reporting Texas

Anita Lane, owner of Anita Lane Core Breakthrough Coaching, got into life coaching after being laid off from her job in the fitness industry during the 2008 recession.

Lane, 74, completed a yearlong training program to become certified as a life coach through the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching, a personal coach training program. She has worked as a life coach in Austin for 11 years, and is also a practitioner of Theta Healing, a therapeutic technique that allegedly uses people’s brainwaves to cure physical and emotional pain. Lane offers services to individuals, couples, youth and groups. Before COVID-19 hit Austin, she said, 80% of her services took place face-to-face.

In mid-March Lane converted her services to a completely virtual format. While she has noticed some new clients, she also has seen her typical business traffic drop “quite a bit,” she says.

Life during a pandemic is proving difficult for many because the human brain is wired to stick with old patterns and routines as a means of survival, Lane said. Unfortunately, the ways people lived just months ago are now near impossible with social distancing rules and stay-at-home orders.

“The whole world is in rapid, deep, profound change and transformation right now,” Lane said. “I don’t know that this has ever happened before.”

As people adjust to their new realities and settle into new comfort zones, Lane shared 10 recommendations, which have been shortened and edited for clarity:

Honor your feelings.
Let yourself have a pity party. Let yourself cry. Let yourself complain. Let yourself be fearful, because that’s true and that’s real. As long as we’re running from fear, it just grows.

Stop resisting what you have no control over.
Nobody on the face of the Earth has any control over this. Stop resisting what is, start accepting, and after you have cried and had a pity party, start a list of things you’re grateful for. Profound change also produces benefits.

Reach out, get support and connect.
Human beings are here to connect. Reach out to a friend who can safely hear you say, “I hate this, and it sucks. My income is down, and I hate being with my husband and children 24-7.” Show this vulnerable part of yourself to a friend who will respect it.

Give to others. (After you take care of your own needs.)
We are always at our best when we are giving to others, but if our tank is completely empty, we can’t do it. Get the support and connection you need, then turn around and give what you can back.

Lighten up.
Make it fun. What would your inner 6-year-old self do if they didn’t have to go to school? Figure out a way to be more playful with your family, your partner, whoever you are with.

Keep moving.
We have got to move our bodies. There are all kinds of online exercise programs. But also organize your attic or your garage or clean out a closet. Do those things that you always had excuses to ignore.

Get creative again.
Pick up old hobbies. Learn something new. Did you like to play bridge before this? Find an online version to play.

Do the things that will support you after this is over.
This is going to pass. What could you do now that would support you after this is over? You could learn a language or teach yourself a new skill. You could do your taxes or update your resume. It does not have to be big to be beneficial.

Rest and recharge.
Be generously, abundantly nurturing to yourself. There is suffering, and some people are not going to come out of this very well physically or emotionally. So how can we nurture ourselves?

Mentally and emotionally frame this period.
What do you want your story to be? People who have lived through drastic circumstances, like World War II, have stories, and they are not all tragic. There were blessings in those stories, and it made a better world, and it made people better.