Janine Langdon-Lee
  • Home
  • Work With Me
  • Books
  • Blog
  • Connect

The Gift of Staying In

/ Inner journey, Life Lessons, Sleep

When Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday, March 23, that New Zealand would go into “Lock Down” for four weeks, I was at a café with a friend having lunch. Life was about to change in a big way for everyone. I felt uncertain and anxious about what this would mean. 

While the last eight weeks was an unusual and stressful time for New Zealand, as a country we did what we had to do during this time to reduce the number of deaths and save lives! The repercussions financially and mentally will stay with us for years. I was one of those weirdos who looked at the four weeks of restrictions as a gift. 

clock and cup

Slowing down  

Level Four felt similar to a shitty winter in Wellington and at the beginning I wasn’t ready for it. The optimist in me was trying to see the positives in this, however I struggled with my mental wellbeing in the first week and a half as we set about trying to create a new normal. The first week I binge watched a lot of streamed programmes. I wasn’t in the headspace to do anything else. 

Locked down sounded restrictive and made me feel uncomfortable so I started called it “Staying In” and while I wouldn’t call it a holiday, these two words helped with the mind set during this time. Suddenly I could see the benefits of what I could do during this time.  
 
I used the time to; 

  • Sort out a few spaces in the home. We moved furniture; decluttered the home office, scullery and garage.  
  • Rethink how I wanted the rest of my 2020 to look and feel!  
  • Take a break from social media. 
  • Stopped reading the news online and would only tune in for 1.00pm updates and the first 15 minutes of the news.  
  • Decluttered craft supplies. 
  • Continued to exercise. 
  • Read voraciously.  
  • Embraced my creativity, made candles, collaged and doodled in my art journal. 

I savoured the creativity time in the evenings; it helped to ground me, made me mindful, and calmed me when life felt tumultuous.  

two journals and two pencils

Change of Direction 

I discovered during this time that the downside of no longer being sleep deprived, eating well and exercising consistently was having an abundance of energy and the drive to live life at 100km an hour!  Prior to staying in, I can see how I was slipping back into busyness of life and spending more time in the “doing” energy and giving away “being” time.  

I realised that my sleep deprivation had been a gift of sorts. It meant I could only focus on one thing at a time because mentally and physically I couldn’t cope with a lot on my plate. 

While there is nothing wrong with slipping back into my old ways, I realised that I don’t want to carry on living like that anymore. I liked the life and flow I had created in 2019, which still allowed me to achieve my goals in 2019 without burnout.  

Having the space without the distraction of a busy life gave me the opportunity to pause. To tap into my inner wisdom and reconnect to self.  I came to the realisation that my original plans for 2020 no longer held the same spark for me. Those plans were what my old self wanted to achieve so I could say I was a success! It allowed me to explore what makes me happy and for now that is writing!   

When I write I am in my joyous place and I am excited to see what may come from that. Will it make me a shitload of money! Realistically probably not unless I got a big book deal or advance to write a book! Will it make me famous? No! However, that’s not why I want to write. I write to share my experiences and if it inspires or educates or helps another woman then that means more to me than anything else.  

red thread heart

The Heart of The Home 

Another spin-off of level three and four is Mike, and I continued to lose weight. We discovered new suppliers for our meat and vegetables and had them delivered throughout level four.  

We were mindful of what we’re eating, not wasting food because we could nip down to the supermarket to buy something new or replace it. Our menu planning was focussed and outlined all three meals for a week and it made the shopping once every eight or nine days easy for Mike.  
 
It made us more creative in the kitchen, if we ran out of an ingredient, we would substitute it with something else or do without. We made more meals from scratch and started using up the supplies in our freezer and pantry. We tried a lot of new recipes and enjoyed what we ate. 

turkey and raw salad vegetables

 
When we were told we were moving to level three; I was extremely excited that we could have takeaways such as Subway, Indian and good old Fish and chips. These meals tasted so good! I think this was because someone else had to make them other than Mike and I. 

I enjoyed having Mike work from home. We would have “smoko” breaks during the day and eat lunch together. I got used to having him home and going for walks around the neighbourhood with him. I was a little sad when my bubble buddy returned to his city office in Level 2.  

Filed Under: Inner journey, Life Lessons, Sleep

Pin Share Share

💕Do you struggle with self-love?  I get it - s 💕Do you struggle with self-love?  I get it - self-love was something I grappled with too. 

I remember when I:
had fallen out of love with my life. 
was disconnected from my body.
found it difficult to move my body.
saw busy as a badge of honour.
Self-soothed my emotions with food.
Couldn’t look at myself in the mirror with love and compassion.

What changed? I began where I was and focussed on one part of my health and wellbeing journey & during the process I fell back in love with myself long before I had reached my destination. 

 🌟My wish for you is that you explore your relationship to improve your health and wellbeing with some of the tips and tools I share in Hungry 4 Change. 

📖I know this book is going to make a huge impact in your life – I know because I’ve experienced it too. 

📝This is why I was so compelled to write Hungry 4 Change because I wanted to help other woman feel back in love with themselves and their lives. 

 
🗓Mark your calendar for 30 July  so you can get your copy! If you have any questions , lets chat in the DMS

#startwhereyouare #imperfectperfectliving #transformation #onestepatatime #embraceyourinnertortoise #changesafoot  #mindset #mindbodysoulemotion #innerselftalk #innercritic #selflove #selfworth #movement #nourishment #showingup # vulnerability #hungry4change #4pillasofselfloveandsuccess  #nourish #move #restore
💕Dear body, I love you! ⁠ ⁠ When was the la 💕Dear body, I love you! ⁠
⁠
When was the last time you said that to your body? Has it been a while? Then perhaps it's time to change that and ⁠start talking to your body and treating it with the same love and compassion that you would show to your best friend. ⁠
⁠
🗨Next time you say something bitchy about or to your body try replacing it with one of these words. ⁠
⁠
👉Save this post as a reminder of some replacement words that you can use next time to drown out your inner mean girl voice the next time she comes to visit.
💕When setbacks happen, we may be quick to judge 💕When setbacks happen, we may be quick to judge or criticise ourselves. Being kinder to ourselves is a more empowering approach.⁠
⁠
How does this work?⁠
⁠
Being kind to yourself gives you that extra bit of courage to try again.⁠
⁠
⏰️Think of the time when you were self-critical about a mistake or a setback. If you were more forgiving in those situations, how would it benefit you?⁠
⁠
📝In future, you can start being kinder to yourself by asking these questions when setbacks crop up:⁠
⁠
- How do I feel about this setback?⁠
- Did my feelings of self-worth drop when this setback happened?⁠
- If yes, why?⁠
- How am I partly responsible for this setback?⁠
- What have I learned?⁠
- What do I NOT have control over with regards to this setback?⁠
- What DO I have control over?⁠
- How can I do better next time?⁠
⁠
These questions are empowering because you grow when you learn from previous setbacks, so when faced with another setback you find yourself more compassionate towards yourself.⁠
⁠
Drop a ❤️ below if this helps you out!⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
⁠
When was the last time you let your inner child ou When was the last time you let your inner child out to play?⁠ ⁠As grown ups we can always find excuses not to play – we can talk ourselves out of it or tell ourselves it’s silly. ⁠
⁠
If you’ve been out of the habit of playing, it might feel daunting or overwhelming knowing where to start!⁠ I share a few prompts to help you get started.⁠
⁠
⁠⁠What you find fun and energising may look different to other people & thats okay! Remember this is about defining what play means to you!⁠
⁠
Once you have defined what "Play" means to you;⁠
⁠
 ▶️Create time in your day/week for a play date with yourself or friends.⁠
 ▶️Schedule play into your planner like any other important appointment.⁠
 ▶️Create a Play Box – gather a few play items e.g, play dough, puzzles, or colouring books, kite, bubbles so you have easy access to your play box.⁠
⁠
Play is essential self-care!⁠
⁠
👉⁠How will you make time for Play in your life?⁠
⁠
Eclipse season can feel uncomfortable as we step o Eclipse season can feel uncomfortable as we step out of our comfort zones and release what no longer serves us. The Taurus energy gives us a steady and stable place to begin from during this time.⁠
⁠
An eclipse is a reminder of where our soul came to go in this lifetime in order to find satisfaction, fulfillment & happiness. ⁠
⁠
This Taurus New Moon is an ideal time to:⁠
🐢Slow down & savour the moment.⁠
💆‍♀️Enjoy sensual pleasures.⁠
🏞Connect with mother nature.⁠
⁠
♉️Let me know how you are going to enjoy indulging in this Taurus Moon energy? ⁠
⁠
🧠Your mindset can make the difference between a 🧠Your mindset can make the difference between a path of self-love or self-sabotage, success or failure. A shift in mindset can turn a setback into an opportunity for self-forgiveness and a shift in direction, a lift in motivation.⁠
⁠
🎯⁠Do you have a vision for your life but you’re not sure how to get started?⁠
⁠
Imagine:⁠
⁠
•	Letting go of “it’s too late, my time has passed” thinking.⁠
•	Building a better relationship with your mind and body.⁠
•	Developing a nurturing relationship with yourself.⁠
•	Listening to your intuition & trusting yourself.⁠
•	Finding your own rhythm.⁠
⁠
⁠When you ⁠free yourself from the beliefs that hold you back from falling back in love with the woman you are - you get crystal clear about what you do and don't want in your life and you:⁠
⁠
•	Learn how to show up for yourself first.⁠
•	Let go of the limiting beliefs. ⁠
•	Connect to your inner wisdom.⁠
•	Create a life that you love! ⁠
•	Fall back in love with yourself.⁠
⁠
👉⁠DM me if you would like to explore how changing your mindset through coaching will help you transform your life. ⁠
⁠
Connect on Instagram
  • Facebook
  • Instagram

© 2019 Janine Langdon-Lee | Website by Form & Flourish

×