What a week.
No matter where in the world you are you can’t failed to have noticed that the UK voted to leave the EU in the early hours of Friday morning. No-one really knows what this means for any of us here in the UK or indeed the rest of the EU in the long term, but it feels like a moment in history regardless of your opinion on the outcome.
In the short term there’s already a huge amount of speculation. The media and social media are full of commentary about what it means for the economy, house prices, job prospects, and relationships with the rest of the world. There’s talk of another Scottish referendum, calls for a second referendum since the margin was so small and general mud slinging in both directions. I voted to Remain and am therefore pretty devastated with the result but I am also respectful of the outcome. It was a democratic process and 52% of the country voted out – that means we’re leaving.
I’m not going to get into a discussion about the politics of all this, the rights and wrongs of both campaigns or what happens next on this blog. What I am going to talk about is how I’ve been coping with a sense of anxiety about the future and of not being in control.
On Friday morning I was awake at 4am watching the results come in. As the outcome became clear and my sense of disbelief grew there was only one thing on my mind about what would help me to feel a bit better. Go to the gym. And so I did. I took my frustrations out on the cross trainer for a good 25 minutes. I usually find the cross trainer pretty dull but there was something very therapeutic about it on Friday morning. Then I chucked a barbell around for a while. I had to concentrate on that which took my mind off everything else.
On Friday night I met up with some friends and went for dinner in The Shard. It was great to see them, to have a good old rant about what had happened and try to make some sense of it all while looking out over my amazing City.
On Saturday morning I woke up feeling tired and quite down. I felt like moping around on the sofa but instead I took myself off to Strongwoman training. I’m glad I did. When you’re pulling over 100kg behind you it’s difficult to worry about anything other than finding the strength to take the next step. Endorphins activated, things felt OK again.
This morning I woke feeling a bit better generally. An e-mail from Julia about the importance of staying focused on your goals, even in times of turmoil really resonated with me and I got stuck into one of her Forge workouts. A few hours away from the media and social media also did me a world of good.
When there are things going on in your life that you can’t control I think it’s important to stay focused on the things that you can. Looking after your health and fitness can help make sure that you’re better placed to deal with whatever else life throws your way.
Exercise is a great stress buster and although it’s not going to find the answers for what lies ahead for this country, it’s definitely helping me to keep calm and maintain some perspective. I’m alive and well and so are my family and friends.
Yes there are uncertain times ahead for my country. Until there are more details about what it all means for me and the people I care about I’ve decided that there’s not much to be gained from winding myself up worrying about things that, no matter how much I’d like to, I cannot change.
From Strength to Strength 