Are you looking forward to longer days, more sunshine, and a little more optimism? I know I am. When we are in the middle of the shnoot it can be hard to understand the purpose of struggles and challenges.
What a ride this winter has been so far…there are more than a few thinking it is time to turn the page.
I know from experience that it is pushing through the struggles that gives us the strength to thrive in life. I hope remembering that is something that will help you look at things a bit differently during the frustrating moments of covid, multiple offers or simply things not turning out the way you want them to.
We might not have a lot of control over what is happening, but we certainly can decide how we choose to respond.
I recently got into a conversation with a complete stranger who had been trying over the last 6 months to purchase a home. Always outbid, now desperate, discouraged and giving up. ‘’Life has been against me the last few years,’’ they said as they recounted some difficult events they had gone through.
Those challenging events had become the focus of their very being; everything was being looked at in light of that trauma.
I asked the person to do an exercise, to sit quietly, holding a pen and pad of paper, to close their eyes and breathe deeply. To give their unconscious mind permission to express all the fears, worries, secrets and hopes. To write it down, to let it out, so that those emotions were acknowledged, not constantly being pushed down in favour of the busy-ness we so often turn to. Sometimes just recognizing and acknowledging can facilitate moving on.
Then I asked them to visualize being in their new home, happy, fulfilled, part of the community, and to write down in detail everything they could imagine…house style, look, neighbourhood, community, local stores, how they spend their day, how they exercise and where…to really build that dream.
In short, to give themselves something positive to focus on as an inspiration and as a goal rather than hanging onto a past anchor that weighs them down and drags them back. Focussing on a goal and treating it as if it is happening now allows us to alter neural pathways, and helps us to re-create our outlooks.
Reframing situations is part of the NLP training I have been studying over the past few years, but also comes from a recent Pivotal ASA accreditation I received to assist my work with seniors facing change. For our precious elders, the transition from being a long-established member of a community to that of an anonymous senior in a place full of strangers, can be terrifying.
You will see more on that Pivotal training in upcoming communications, it is too important a subject to not discuss thoroughly. I feel honored to be one of only two in this province that have the accreditation. If you have an elder near you who is struggling, has failing health or is starting to forget things, if you are worried and don’t know what to do, let’s have a talk.
Valentine’s Day is coming up, and while I am not a believer in the commercialization of love…I do appreciate any excuse to express care and consideration. As an extension of my Chocolates at Christmas outreach to the elderly veterans at the Ste-Anne Hospital, I decided to make some ‘You are Loved’ Valentine’s Day cards for elders, in residences and at home, who may not get many visitors. The idea has ballooned and I am now getting requests from people to send one of my cards to someone they care about…I think it is fantastic. Many thanks to Claudy Hazan and to the students, parents and staff of the Mackay Centre and Philip E Layton School who banded together to get us the artwork!
Are you looking for information about the real estate market? We are in a bit of a holding pattern, the market is still busy, there are still multiple offers in certain areas and with certain property types and price brackets, interest rates are rising so there is a push on for people to lock in rates and properties. Not a lot has changed from December, so this newsletter is a bit different. Watching the real estate market can be a bit like checking the stock market multiple times per day; it causes anxiety and exhaustion and who needs that! If you have a specific question or need, call or text me and let’s talk.
That said, I do have a beautiful 3 bedroom home in Outremont looking for a new family…
3 bedroom 2 bathroom, garage
Be kind to yourselves this winter. Be kind to others. And call me if you need anything real estate related or other. If I can help, I will.
XOC
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