During this current and ever evolving global pandemic, we are constantly waking up to new information, new theories and new action plans. Currently within Australia, essential services are allowed to operate alongside some business and other roles, albeit in limited capacity. This may have seen you lose work, your business, your friends business and ultimately bring about a very abrupt transition into a new life as we now know it. We are at home, looking for new ways to exercise, to entertain ourselves, entertain and school our kids as well as try and do the right thing by our fellow Australian. This is not an easy situation to be in, and it is well and truly in the Governments control now. I whole heartedly agree with the current measures and will not be surprised to see more and more restrictions put into place. Within the blog post I am going to offer my take on how to come out of this time with your mental and physical health intact, as well as potentially a new creative niche and a lot of time to reflect.
1) Exercise:
I cannot stress it enough. You need to be exercising in some capacity. This does not mean to start a jogging routine at the park or maintain a daily visit to the beach. You need to seek out qualified and suitable advice in order to make the best of what you have. You may already own gym equipment at home which is great, but it is not a necessity for a good quality home workout. My 2 most recent blogs discuss the ins and outs of home work outs and the opportunities they provide, especially for those who rely on a barbell and heavy dumbbell set in order to feel like it was a tough session. Whilst progressive overload and variety are a key component to results within the gym, we need to be realistic here. Manage your expectations and go back to the things you struggle with the most. This way of thinking breeds opportunity and new challenges. Overcoming personal challenges and strategising in order to achieve self improvement really is going to help you overcome how you might be feeling at the moment. I understand that somebody has taken your job, forced you to stay home and isolated you from seeing your friends and some family, however, the stronger you can stay mentally, the better you will come out of this situation.
2) Get creative:
In all aspects of your life, you need to develop a new way to do things. You might be working from home, which in itself required adaptation and creativity. I urge you to keep looking for chances to make everything you are surrounded by at the moment feel normal, still feel interesting and develop some new skills and tricks. If you have always wanted to be better at drawing, painting, doing make up, or anything really. You just need to do it, now is a better time than ever to do that one thing you have been putting off. You could try and learn a new language, study something, read a heap of books. This is the one time where your options are endless, and the time is available. Keeping your mind healthy and focussing on the things that you can do, rather than the things that you can’t is really going to serve you well over the next couple of months and then some. Be open to change and be up for anything.
3) Keep in touch with people:
Unfortunately, as isolation sets in and restrictions become increasingly important to abide by, people are going to be lost in the crowd. There are already people out there who do things tough and by themselves, and you can only imagine how a global pandemic is making those people feel. Its 2020, so your communication options are literally endless. There is no excuse not to be able to reach out to people if you need to, or you feel that they need to. We need to band together and keep an eye on the people who already have issues with isolation. Just remember that people are losing businesses they have worked for years to build, they are losing careers that they have had for life. It’s a very vulnerable time for a lot of people and we need to look out for our fellow Aussies.
4) Keep a positive outlook:
Whilst it might be a tough, uncertain and unfamiliar time that we are all entering at the moment, we need to do our best to keep our heads up. I have already mentioned the hardship that people are experiencing and all of those things directly apply to me. I have lost almost of all my work and business, I have seen those around me close up shop, and I have been distant from friends and family. I have definitely felt the uncertainty in the air and experienced some low moments amongst the few and far between highs, so I get it. What I’d encourage you to do though is to look at what you have, instead of what you haven’t. As cliché as that sounds, this is only temporary and things can be rebuilt. Your mental health is one of the most important things at the moment and finding small things to hold onto and trying to avoid the fear mongering is going to be in everybody’s best interest.
5) Continue to do the right thing:
For every minute you spend in isolation, you ensure that the threat is being minimised directly due to your level of maturity in recognising the seriousness at this time. Whilst many others are not taking this seriously for one reason or another, you can ensure you are doing your part. Look at it in a positive light. You are being part of the solution and not increasing the problem. We all have leaders to follow and our part to play, and the sooner we can do that, the sooner things can return to normal. The message has been “stay at home” from the start, and it is more important now than ever. Do your bit, and be proud of your actions throughout. Keep resources, friends, family and your mental health close, in a safe and smart way. Reach out when you need to and seek quality information from website sources such as the WHO. We’re all in this together.