COVID-19 isn’t the first crisis to afflict humanity and certainly won’t be the last.
That may be of little comfort to those currently enduring social distancing and isolation, however.
The lucky few retain their jobs and/or work remotely.
Others may possess only time, a dark void of uncertainty and angst.
So, how can we make the best of a bad situation?
5 fundamentals for staying positive during tough times
Health
Perhaps the immediate priority is self-care and maintaining our immune systems.
Good health is foundational to holistic wellbeing, with physical and mental health so interdependent as to be inseparable.
Use this time to implement an exercise plan.
Running, weights and HIIT workouts from home are all good options. No gym required.
Take this time to focus on your diet. Eat additional fruit and vegetables.
I employ intermittent fasting with a 16-8 eating window to bolster my immune system, but that’s just me.
Learning
This interstitial period could provide an excellent opportunity to upskill or cross-skill.
What have you been procrastinating on?
If you’ve considered changing roles or exploring new interests, you can finally hit the books.
Learn to code, practise photography, write more. Get curious.
Take an online course through Udemy or Skillshare or watch free YouTube videos.
We live in an information utopia restricted only by the time we have available to access it.
And that is a resource we might all leverage over the coming weeks.
Meditation
In a crisis, social contagion is rife. The media propagates panic and worry like wildfire.
Meditation is an essential antidote during such unpredictability.
By observing our thoughts and feelings, we realise their impermanence, restoring psychological equilibrium.
Rather than become embroiled in a negative vortex of emotion, we remain the context in which the content of our mind plays.
Such mental flossing, like physical exercise, has a profound impact on our emotional health during turbulent times.
Reconnection
A crisis such as this, indiscriminate of country or creed, is an opportunity for solidarity.
Humanity can unite. So pull together and disregard the divisions of old.
This needn’t be a grand, abstract gesture. Instead, start small.
Reach out and reconnect with old friends. A simple message will do.
Reflection
Take unprecedented times as an invitation for reflection.
When the status quo is disrupted and subconscious patterns distorted, we’re forced to think differently.
Question your assumptions. Liberate your brain demons on paper in a journal.
Prepare your future reality for a fundamental perspective shift, awaiting deployment when normal service resumes.
What can you learn from the fragility of life? How can you accept your own mortality? What behaviours and actions will result from this existential reminder?
Making the most of a bad situation
COVID-19, like any crisis, has shocked the world.
What we assumed was stable no longer is. What we came to rely upon we no longer can.
And the human organism must adapt, which it will.
Society has decelerated from its usual frenetic pace, providing a reset button for our conditioned instincts and behaviours.
So recognise where you can make an impact, however small. Take back control from an uncertain world where you can.
Rather than passively absorbing negative news headlines or numbing yourself with Netflix, circumscribe from extraneous inputs and decide what you can do today to make tomorrow a little better.
Then take positive action.
