Perspective
“I am fundamentally an optimist. Whether that comes from nature or nurture, I cannot say. Part of being optimistic is keeping one's head pointed toward the sun, one's feet moving forward. There were many dark moments when my faith in humanity was sorely tested, but I would not and could not give myself up to despair. That way lays defeat and death.” -Nelson Mandela
In a matter of days, life has drastically changed for millions of people. The #quarantinelife of isolation can have its tough moments, especially for those with chronic #fomo, who feel they will never eat out again and that their social life is now a distant memory of the past.
Beautiful Photo by CharMarie Photography
However, there are some pros to confounding to close quarters with your loved ones all day and night- one of the greatest gifts of this quarantine era is the ability to be fully present and have uninterrupted time together.
Truthfully, as we work through this unknown phase and our daily way of life is completely disrupted, we have to train our minds and change our perspective. We can fold under these new conditions, or we can allow gratitude for the simple things in life to help us cope and think about the bigger picture. Americans have to become comfortable with being uncomfortable.
It has been an adjustment. Especially for those with kids, and they have taken on the task of working remotely full time while caring for their children. Some have the responsibility of becoming a full-time chef, teacher, house cleaner, therapist, all while trying to maintain their sanity. Although pre quarantine life, as an entrepreneur, I worked from home already, this past week felt VERY different. I did not bury myself in the email jail. I did not stay up all night working to create content, and I did not meet the deliverables from two weeks ago when this pandemic began when I started to feel distracted by the anxiety this uncertainty has caused.
Instead, I spent time with my family. I played with my kids for hours. I put my phone away, and I crawled on the floor pretending to be dinosaurs with my son, we painted masterpieces in "art class," we sang songs in Spanish and had impromptu dance parties to Dora the Explorer album, and we made little play dough globes for geography class. We decorated and ate troll cookies for trolstice. My husband and I binged watched old school hip hop videos, we worked in our yard, cleaned our garage, we cooked meals together, and we talked for hours and hours, connecting on so many levels. We embraced spending quality time with each other that we usually wouldn't do just because we were "busy" or distracted with life.
This may seem boring to some, but for a couple with two babies under two, who usually live in different states during the weekdays due to my husband's extensive training schedule, this time together was everything.
I feel like God had to get our attention. He slowed us down for a reason. My anxiety with the unknowns of this virus made me appreciate some of the most simple tasks that I had typically taken for granted.
Ask yourself, since we cannot change our situation, how can we change our perspective? How can we train our minds to overcome this period of isolation, and instead of focusing on what we can't do, how can we maximize all of the things we can do. Need some suggestions? Check out my list below:
#Netflixandchill
Read that devotional or book you have been putting off
Clean your house
Clean out your inbox or DM
Rest
Exercise
Write your business plan
Write your book
Create a gratitude journal
Pray
Wash your hands :)
Beautiful Photo by CharMarie Photography
