Ep #29: How to Create Meaningful Connections

You are listening to the Weight Loss for Successful Women podcast with Shannan Christiansen, episode number 29.

Welcome to Weight Loss for Successful Women, a podcast for women who are ready to break the diet cycle and end their struggle with weight for good. Here’s your host, Fortune 100 executive and Certified Life Coach, Shannan Christiansen.

Hello loves. Well, welcome back. I’m just so blessed that I get to spend time with all you ladies, and I’m just so grateful that you’re listening. So today is part three of the series I’m doing on how to get through what is happening in this world without losing yourself.

In today’s show, I want to talk about one simple but necessary thing we must do even though we’re all socially distancing ourselves or we feel like we’re in quarantine. But before we get into the show, I want to give a listener shout-out to Sharon Spohn.

She wrote, “Shannan, this podcast for me is so relatable. I was married for over 20 years. It was a verbal and emotional rollercoaster. I went through so much pain. The only gift from that relationship is my three beautiful sons. Since joining the BFLY sisterhood, I have been able to put all my pain and suffering behind me. I can’t change my past. I can change my future. Thank you, Shannan.”

Oh Sharon, I love that review and I’m so happy that you’re listening. So ladies, if you are loving the show, please rate and review. Leave me a review. I love to read your reviews on the podcast.

As I record this, it has been three weeks since everything has changed. I sit here thinking it’s only been three weeks. It seems like months. So many things have happened over the last three weeks from stay-at-home orders, the number of cases rising, doubling, canceled schools, canceled vacations and trips, going to the grocery store, and they’re out of basic essentials.

It has felt surreal. My brain continues to go from the world is ending to this too shall pass. I have had all the emotions. If you did not listen to last week’s podcast, number two, go to bflycoaching.com/28. I talk about how to feel all the feelings of what is going on.

I was FaceTiming with my grandkids and having the best time watching them. They have been doing all kinds of things to keep busy, from dance parties to coloring parties to obstacle courses in the house. My oldest two are now doing online school from home, but before they started doing online school, my granddaughter’s teacher was making videos and sending them to parents, so her students could watch them.

I mean, it was super cute. These videos were to her students. She would tell a story, show a picture of her dog. My granddaughter loved them. Her teacher was trying to connect. She wanted to let her students know she was thinking about them. She wanted connection with them.

Connection is so important in this time of social distancing. When we feel alone, we buffer and for most of us, we eat. We feel disconnected so we eat. We do not want to feel disconnected and lonely, so we believe eating a cupcake will solve it. One way to get through this time is by having a meaningful connection each day. At least one, but as many as you can have.

I needed to FaceTime my grandkids. I wanted to see their faces and hear their voices. I wanted them to know how important they are to me and that I’m still here. I could not hug them, but I could blow kisses and tell them how much I love them. I could listen to them as they were telling me all sorts of stuff. And my Jaxie, she wanted to be on the phone the whole time.

I needed this connection with them as much as they needed it from me. When we become disconnected, we isolate, and then it can magnify feelings of sadness, depression, fear, and loneliness. We must have meaningful connection every day. We have to find ways of connecting with others, even though we are socially distanced.

I call my dad and I’ve noticed that he wants to talk just a little longer. He is missing him, as I am missing him. Connection is so important. I’m calling him more during this time to check in on him, to make sure that he knows I am here and I love him.

I’m not traveling either for work right now, and having meaningful connections with all my leaders every day is so important. Every time I call them, I turn on my videos. Every meeting we have, we have our video cameras on. Even though we’re not in the same room, it can feel like we are when I can see their face and hear their voice. I feel connected to them even though we are thousands of miles apart.

If we are left alone with our lizard brains, we can spin out. We can create all this drama about the worst-case scenarios. We can feel as if the world is ending right now. But love, it is not. I have been telling my ladies that this too shall pass, and in three to six months, how do you want to look back on this time and how you spent it?

I tell them to think about the best-case scenario more than they’re thinking about the worst-case scenario. We all have a choice right now in this moment to decide on purpose to make the most of today. To have a meaningful connection, even though it might be through a different channel than normal.

So every day, look for ways to connect with your friends and family. Look for ways to lift each other up. Don’t just spend time talking about all the things happening. All the things that we cannot control. Find ways to connect that are positive and fun.

I’ve seen so many amazing games and different things on social and Zoom parties and all kinds of ways to connect. Also, if you’re one of my Jumpstarters, then lean on your accountability teams and your BFLY sisterhood. They are there for you.

And if you’re a member of my Weight Loss for Successful Women private Facebook group, I am doing Lives every week and come join us. If you’re not a member yet, you can join and we’ll put the link in the show notes. So you can go to bflycoaching.com/29.

So today’s transformational questions are who can you video chat with right now and have a meaningful connection with? What do you do when you feel disconnected? And what other ways can you feel a positive meaningful connection?

Sending lots of love to all you ladies and next week, I’m going to talk about something I have never talked about on the podcast or any of my Facebook Lives. So I can’t wait to talk to you next week and we’ll talk soon, loves. Bye for now.

If you love this work and want to go deeper, take my free course. You can learn more about it at bflycoaching.com/free-course. Bye for now, loves.

Thank you for listening to this episode of Weight Loss for Successful Women. If you love what you heard today and want to learn more, come over to bflycoaching.com. That’s B – F – L – Y coaching dot com. See you next week!