Mind Your Mindset. Navigating the Corona Crisis.

As we’ve started a new week still navigating our way through the widespread impacts of COVID-19, it’s important to mind your mindset through the Corona crisis. What we’re currently experiencing is unlike anything we have dealt with before – a global situation that touches pretty much every aspect of our daily lives. Kids are home from school, jobs are being impacted, our social lives are strictly limited – it’s all a bit much and can very easily send us into a tailspin of worry, anxiety, frustration and whatever else we may experience on an individual level. Situations like this can either squeeze the worst out of us or encourage the better sides of our human nature to emerge  so we are able to help each other through the challenges of our immediate future and current existence.

What’s happening now is that we are running the gamut from those who are going to the worst possible extreme of reaction — who are doing things like buying up ALL the toilet paper – to those who aren’t taking the situation seriously enough and refuse to abide by any guidance at all, going on with life as if we’re not in the middle of a global health crisis. It’s important for us to find our way to a point somewhere in the middle of these two extremes so we can RESPOND appropriately (not react!). That requires the proper mindset — once again, mind your mindset. One that is not rigid and is open to other perspectives than one’s own. In times of uncertainty, without intentional effort, it is human nature to fall back on natural tendencies as a coping mechanism. Reacting out of fear produces an entirely different result than does responding from a rational, thought-out process; both use completely different parts of the brain. Fear produces a base response that causes one to freeze and lose the ability to rationalize, thinking of the worst possible outcome. That’s not where we want to live but we also can’t be too lax in our response that we fail to act appropriately, or at all. It’s going to take some flexibility, patience and digging deep on all our parts to get through the next few weeks to months. No one knows how long it’ll be. And then, even when the spread of the virus has been “contained,” there are sure to be long-lasting impacts that we have to deal with for some time. So what are we to do???

Facing Reality

First of all, take a breath. Inhale, exhale. And then come to terms with the fact that things are going to be different, CHALLENGING, for a while. To let it settle in as reality is to create the possibility of viewing the situation with the proper perspective. Assess how your life is going to be impacted. Do you have children that will be home for the foreseeable? Are they younger children that require more attention? Will your household lose income that would cause a hardship? What about your savings and/or retirement? How is your money being impacted?

Next, it’s time to come up with a plan. If you do have kids at home, how will you keep them occupied? How will you keep yourself from going crazy if you are working at home trying to balance their needs AND yours? Don’t really know the answers to those questions??? I’ve got you! Here are a few tips that will hopefully help you out…

Keep the Kiddos in Check

Kids thrive in structure so even if they’re home and technically out of school, keeping them on some type of schedule will help them AND you. You don’t have to plan out every single hour of the day but planning their days in chunks will help. Make sure they have activities to do, schedule meals, snacks and quiet times. Also COMMUNICATE your plan to them up front so they know what to expect and by all means, stick to your plan. That’s the only way it’s going to work. For older kids, some schools/systems are making online work available. Make sure their day includes some productivity: academic work of some sort, chores, even exercise. Send them outside for fresh air and Vitamin D! The following is a schedule option to hopefully help you manage their time.

Adult Productivity

I don’t know about you but the idea of extra time immediately brings to my mind dreams of sleeping late and LOTS of lounging! I rarely have time for much TV so I’m tempted to be like people I hear about all the time and Netflix and chill. I may allow myself SOME time for that but I’m also constantly feeling the lack of time I have to stay on top of things in my home (can we say projects, boys and girls???). To structure your own time (and to not waste a completely good opportunity for some productivity yourself!), how about we all agree to come up with a realistic list of some things we can accomplish at home. You don’t have to fill every waking hour with your to-do list but checking some things off the never-get-done list will make you feel really good about yourself!

Cabin Fever

It’s one thing to be off work and out of school with a list of fun activities to explore. It’s a completely different beast to be on total lockdown. It’s going to take some creativity to help pass your time at home without going completely stir crazy. Try to think outside the box, especially with kids on hand, to come up with things to do. After you’ve gotten them to do all the work and played all the board games, how about creating a scavenger hunt in the immediate surroundings of your home? Come up with a list of items they have to find and then have a small prize for the winner like getting to choose what fun snack or dessert you then make together as a family. Or have them make up stories that they then have to act out. I myself am praying for good weather to have my teenage sons help me with my garden! Those are quick ideas but you get the gist. Consider it a blessing to have this additional time and make the most of it! We live such busy, over scheduled lives that we no longer appreciate or know how to JUST.BE.STILL. If you didn’t like the options you had (employment, living, financial, etc.) because of this forced lockdown and realize your life could use some real change, direct your efforts to figuring out what that change looks like and write down some goals toward a greater VISION for your life! (DM me. I would love to help you navigate those changes.)

Mindset Matters

The ultimate point is to mind your mindset throughout this time. How you approach it will determine how you go through it. To mind your mindset…

Make sure

It’s

Not

Detrimental, destructive or draining

Never forget that your mindset matters.