While there are many things we cannot control right now, we still have control over many things, including our thoughts, where we give our attention, and our attitude. I finally turned my perspective around this week. The combination of warmer weather, feeling healthy again, and my persistent setting of small daily goals has got me feeling far less anxious, sad, and unfocused. For those reading this at some point in the future, this is written during the 3rd week of the COVID-19 social distancing/lock-down here in the US. I can’t control anything outside of my home right now, but I’ve found personal power in controlling what I can.
I stopped obsessively checking the news every hour. I still check it a few times a day, but the constant stream of negative news stories will mess with ya! I have seen the uplifting stories of people coming together to help one another or positive things that continue to happen in my circle of friends like a child taking her first steps, a friend earning her Ph.D., a new mother appreciating her husband being home right now, and my bestie getting approved for a mortgage. Life goes on even if it is completely different from how it was just a few weeks ago. Control the stories you let into your life. If you have a friend that currently brings you down with what they are sharing on social media, you can pause them for a month and not see their posts without blocking or unfriending them. Control how and where you get your news. Make sure it’s true facts and not just a bunch of sensationalism or ignorance.
You can control how you see your situation- you are stuck at home, or you are safe at home. Honestly, I’ve been loving all the people who have now gone online to share their passions with others. There are so many free classes and resources right now! Also, I’ve been so inspired by all the DJs sharing live sets from their homes! Almost every night I can put on some music and just dance around the house or driveway like I did every weekend in my 20s. I hope they keep doing it even after this is all over, cause some of us are not about that club life anymore but we still LOOOOVE your music!! So my message is to keep sharing with others and let’s all lift each other up when we can. Is there something you can share- a talent, a positive story, your art, or even just a message to let people know you are surviving. And if you are not doing well, please reach out. There are resources for anyone suffering from mental health issues right now. And I think most people will agree they wouldn’t hesitate to answer a call from someone just needing to connect right now. This is a time for sharing, and all of us can find a way to reach out right now.
You can control what you expect of yourself right now. My social media feed is often filled with the contrasting messages of you don’t have to do anything right now, stuff your face, hide under the covers, etc and the opposite posts of you should be starting a new online business, learning to cook healthy meals and lose all that weight while painting a masterpiece and writing a novel in a month. Yeah, maybe we can agree to find a middle ground in there somewhere people. Only you are going to know what feels right for you right now. I’ve been on both ends of the spectrum within the last week I think. So how do you control moving your dial one click closer towards happy and inspired? For me, setting small goals for each day has really kept me focused. Instead of saying I’m going to read this book, I set a goal to read one chapter a day. It’s a far more reasonable goal, and hey, if I feel great that day maybe I’ll read more than one chapter. I’ve had the goal to get this blog written for the last 5 days, so it’s ok to carry those goals over to the next day if needed. Surviving is ok, but I promise that if you can find a few things to bring a little more happiness or joy into your life each day you won’t regret it.
Let me know where you are on the surviving to thriving spectrum these days. Do you ebb and flow? Are you still struggling? None of us can control how long this will all last outside of doing our part to stay at home, so let’s control what we can do to help make it more tolerable for ourselves and the world. Because if you can raise your own vibration, it will have an effect on the world around you. Maybe we can help turn all this around. I have no control over who loses their job, or if I might even lose mine, so all I can control is spreading my little bit of positivity with you. I hope it helps. Feel free to reach out anytime if you need someone to talk to!
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