As the entire world shuts themselves inside their homes during this quarantine period, we have an amazing opportunity to maximize our experience. Rather than fighting against what’s happening, it’s much better to lean into the chaos and surrender to slowing down. If we are stuck at home for another month, we may as well make the most of it. Below are some ways that you can use this time to improve yourself and your situation.
1. Shift your mindset to find the opportunity within the challenge: With so much happening outside of our control, it’s the perfect time to turn inward and utilize this time to improve your life. There’s an opportunity to reconnect with yourself, your desires, and your relationships with others. Use this forced isolation as an opportunity to heal and set intentions of what you want your life to look like.
2. Use this time to clean out clutter in your space and in your mind: When our spaces are messy and cluttered, so is our mind. There has never been a better time for spring cleaning! Start with your work space. Remove everything, clean the surfaces, throw out junk, and organize the rest. Once your done with your work space, tackle another spot in your house. This is a great time to purge and clear out the cobwebs.
3. Practice forgiveness: Use this time to heal from old wounds and traumas so that you can finally let go of the emotional & physical pain you’ve been carrying around your whole life. Forgive yourself for past wrongs toward yourself or others, and forgive others for the wounds they inflicted on you. Forgiveness is a gift you give to yourself. It’s the choice to no longer suffer from events of the past. Purge. Forgive. Heal.
4. Get to know yourself: Have you ever had the desire to get to know yourself better? Getting clear on who you are, what you want, and what your purpose is, will bring great meaning to your life. It’s about living your life on purpose, with purpose. Start by closing your eyes and taking a few deep breaths. Then ask yourself “Who am I?”… let the question go. Then ask yourself “What do I want?”… then let the question go. Then ask “What is my purpose?”… then let the question go. If you do this every day with a real intention of wanting the answers, they will start to flow to you in moments of insight, inspiration, synchronicity or in conversations with others that say something that resonates with you. This practice can completely change your life.
5. Shake up your routine: If you’ve ever wanted more for yourself, this is the time to get started. Do you want to start exercising? Do you want to add more joy into your life? Do you want to eat healthier? Do you want to read more? Figure out what you want, and create a new daily routine that supports your desires. It’s much easier to create a new routine while we’re at home in this period of slow down, than when we’re running a million miles per hour.
6. Reconnect with friends and family: Even though we’re physically separated, we’re more emotionally together than ever before. Connect with family, friends and colleagues virtually for coffee breaks, happy hours or even a virtual dinner party! Zoom, Facetime, Skype and other technology have made it easier than ever to stay connected with the people you care about.
7. Rediscover your old hobbies and things that bring you joy: What old hobbies did you used to love? What things have you been interested in trying? Maybe you’re an artist but haven’t picked up a paintbrush in years. Or maybe you love building things and doing house projects. Or maybe you love gardening, or reading adventure stories or playing with model trains. Reconnect to whatever brings you joy.
8. Remind yourself what’s really important in your life: If nothing else, this pandemic has really shown us what’s important in our lives. Being forced to slow down and eliminate a lot of the distractions we have in our lives gives us the opportunity to reflect on what really matters. And that’s always a beautiful thing. My hope is that you emerge from this time healed and transformed.
