Something we had not given much attention to over a month ago, seems to have enveloped our minds and lives. We as humanity are struggling to understand what just happened and make peace with these intense challenging times. All of us are swimming through the river of uncertainty not knowing what the future has in store for our families, our coworkers, our friends, and even our world as a whole. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring but we do know that today is in our hands and we want to know what more we can do than just wash our hands for 30 seconds.
We have to learn to transmute this anxious energy and look for ways to give ourselves and others faith that we shall all be okay.
We have to learn to focus on self-care, connecting with others and being intentional on where we put our time, energy and attention. Here are a few simple ways of how to do that:
Connect Within Yourself — Keeping the mind and body healthy
- Read: Think back to a book on your shelf/Kindle that you can re-read. Or buy a new book on your Kindle app that you have been wanting to read but haven’t had the time.
- Meditate: So many free online options that can help balance your thoughts and mind even if for a bit. Celebrities that have offered these recently have been Deepak Chopra/Oprah and Jay Shetty. Download apps like Calm that will walk you through a daily practice. YouTube is also a great resource.
- Learn something new: Learn a new language that you have always wanted to (Duolingo is a great app), for me, it’s Spanish. Take an online course through Coursera where many universities offer free courses on an array of topics for you to dabble your feet into something new. Years ago I did a course on “Sustainability” and I just signed up for the ever so famous course by Yale on happiness.
- Exercise — There are so many platforms offering free online exercises from your local gyms to national companies (Nike/Peloton/Centr by Chris Hemsworth). Set time aside each day to work out by yourself or with your family. Go biking or walking in your neighborhood, only if your “Stay At Home” rules allow for that.
- Limit news consumption — Listen to the news, scroll through social media only as much as needed to stay informed and safe. Stay away from knowing the exact statistics at each and every given moment.
Connect With Your Community: Give back to people in your area
- Promote local businesses in your area through social media posts or even online reviews(Yelp/Google/Facebook) that are struggling in hopes of sending future business their way and encourage friends to buy gift cards from them.
- Reach out to a friend/neighbor/coworker who could have lost their job and help update their LinkedIn profile or their resume.
- Help with groceries/medicine pickup for seniors/friends in your community that may have compromised immune systems.
- Find a community contact who can provide you info on how to pay for lunch for a Title 1 school kid that relies on that one meal a day or even donate money to people who are sewing masks for front line workers.
Connect Globally: Think of ways you are struggling and help others going through the same
- Create a Facebook group consolidating resources that could potentially help others in the same situation as you. My friend and I created a Facebook group for Parents/Teachers/Students (K-12/ college) to help navigate their way through the world of online learning and adjusting to this new normal. For us, it was all the confusion for our college kids who were home for spring break. The group has grown quickly to over 4000 people in just two weeks from people all over the world with suggestions/tips and resources. It makes people feel that there are others out there that are in the same boat.
- Promote organizations that speak to you and possibly could use some awareness help.
- Encourage a friend across the world who may be struggling and give them support, be it through phone calls/emails or some funny TikTok videos even. Let them know this is temporary and remind them that we are all in this together.
As the world is pivoting, we have to learn to re-compass our outlook, our mindset, and our attitude.
Yes, we may all be treading the same waters but could be in very different boats. So, hold on to those oars and keep rowing, as we surely have an upstream haul as we adjust to these new normals. But with every dip of the oar, remind yourself to rid of the negative thoughts, be calm and stay on the path of positivity.
Keep working on transmuting that energy into where it best helps your mind diversify and focus on something meaningful for yourself, your family and the world around you.