Contagious probably not the word most want to hear right now with all that is going on. Let's be real...most of our lives have been flip, turned, upside down (Yes you did just sing the Fresh Prince song don't lie). & you're probably taking a minute sitting right there wondering when are you going to come up for air.
*Mic Drop*
In all seriousness though, these last two weeks have been more of an emotional roller coaster than the climax of our favorite movie. From thing being shut down, gyms closing, layoffs, the apocalypse of toilet paper hoarding...whatever certainty we thought we once had seems to have vanished. In a time where most of us Type A people, like myself, thrive off of routines / schedules this to say the least has been hard. Like really hard. It also doesn't help that every social media platform seems to be sharing more and more negative or "scary" things. With that being our new reality, I want to shed some light. I'd like to share a few tips on things you should be focusing on / doing in a time like this. Maybe you take note and opt to add one, maybe you love them all, heck maybe you think I am flat out crazy...
5 Things To Focus On:
Your mental health: Now is not the time to put yourself on the back burner. In fact many of us have more "free time" than we'd like...what better opportunity to really do some deep inner work?
Keeping a routine: Like I mentioned most of us function off of a routine. While your routine might look a little different, keep things on a schedule as much as you can. No Becky, that doesn't mean sleep until 9 am now just because you're not going to the office.
Close relationships: This one hits hard. For someone who just moved states 8ish months ago having a support system or friends I can call really matters. Use this time to FaceTime a buddy or family member you don't normally talk to. You're not as busy now..
Hobbies: Find new things you normally wouldn't have time to do. Maybe that's running (you do you boo). Perhaps you find out you're an excellent 1,000 piece puzzle solver. Or you finally listen to that inner voice on a passion of yours that you want to grow.
Dogs: Okay this one isn't fully valid...especially if you're a cat person. However come on this little man is adorable. You know you can't help but smile, and smiling / happiness releases some good endorphins during a stressful time.
Who you're surrounded by: This is really the 5th reason. (I still think the doodle counts) However, energy is contagious. Who you're around, how they act, it does have a direct. correlation with your own feelings. So as much as I hate to say it...Debbie downer has to go. She can't sit with us.
The point of this (besides showing my awesome rapping skills) is to really shine light on the need to focus on the good. More importantly focus on what you can control. Complaining about what's closed, or not having access to the gym won't solve anything. At the rate this is going too...you're asking to be miserable for at least two weeks if that's all you can give your time and energy to. What I hope you take away from this, is that there is still good around. There are still positives in your life...it's up to you on if you see it or not.
-Taryn
Comments