Much like buying life insurance and never needing to cash in on it, when life is humming along, there isn’t a sense of urgency to put contingency plans in place.
But, when life throws you a curveball, managing life through a crisis is no fun.
The days can seem to blend into each other, and it’s hard to imagine the difficult time ending. It’s like trying to put out a five-alarm fire without water or being thrown into the middle of an ocean without a life raft.
In 2014 I found myself in the middle of multiple crises. Throughout the year, three of the people I love most were sick, and then my Dad died suddenly.
I wouldn’t wish that kind of stress on anyone.
Making it through to the other side ultimately did happen, life did return to a sense of routine, but it changed me. Living through this pandemic reminds me of how on edge I felt in 2014. Except for this time, it’s no longer just my life being impacted. It’s everyones.
So, as the world has changed because of COVID-19, and everyone is in crisis management mode, what can you learn about yourself? Are you adaptable? Maybe you don’t know where you are, but you aren’t in the same place you were a month ago.
Whether this is the first crisis you’ve lived through or one of many, when change is upon you, it’s good to have a game plan.
Believe me, when I say this, your routine will come back.
What short term motivation solutions and long term strategies can you put in place to keep going?
Look ahead.
When you take one step and then the next, it gives you a sense of control – so that you don’t feel things are happening “to you”; they are happening to support you. As a habit-based health coach, my clients are often surprised by a simple way they can incorporate easy steps to do this.
While it might seem selfish, putting the oxygen mask on for yourself first will help you into a good place physically and emotionally to manage your health better no matter what.
For example, in just two minutes a day, you can train your brain to become more positive.
Did you know that if you do something new for 21 days in a row, you can re-wire your brain to work and think more optimistically and give you a sense of control? How?
Here are five ideas:
- Three gratitudes – name three things that you are grateful for because it helps you scan the world, not for the negative but for the positive first.
- Journaling – about one positive experience over the last 24 hours – so you get to relive it.
- Play (exercise) – teaches your brain that your behaviour matters.
- Meditation – allows your brain to get clear – ALLOWING us to focus on the good.
- Random acts of kindness – send one positive email a day or even a letter by mail and let someone know you are thinking about them.
Training our brain like we train our bodies, we can reverse the formula for happiness and success and create real ripples of positivity for ourselves and others.
Now is the time to nurture yourself and let go of who you were to who you want to become.
After COVID-19, life should not go backwards. Focus on where you can move forward by holding onto the vision of the health you want. Create lasting positive change.
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