More than often, when it comes to difficult times and heavy weight on the shoulder, people struggle to see the end of it. Not everyone has the ability to cope with major changes and tragic events, especially when life has always been smooth sailing.
No matter how organised and planned out a person is, there will always be certain things that we are unable to foresee — a pandemic is one of them.
To be faced with an unexpected life-changing crisis as critical as the Coronavirus, COVID-19 is never in one’s prediction and will never be an easy point in everybody’s lives. As much as we try to instill optimism in our brains and lead ourselves into a better state of mind, it’s okay to know that we would sometimes stumble along the way, simply because a human’s mind is filled with both optimism and pessimism; the only difference is in the way we balance them out necessarily.
When we are faced with a seemingly endless rainy season, what do we do when the rain doesn’t stop when it’s supposed to?
- We pray; we pray for the things that we don’t have control over.
- We adjust; we adjust ourselves to the season to survive.
- And the most important yet the hardest thing to do, we hope; we never stop hoping for nothing but a better season.
Easier said than done, here are the simple ways to help you continue to see the good in the bad times;
1. Practice self-care
I believe at this point everyone can agree that taking care of ourselves seems to be pretty much the heaviest task for us, being cooped up in our house and not going out leads to appearance abandonment. Staying at home in pajamas without breaking a sweat or meeting other people, is self-care necessary?
When was the last time you slept on time, took a refreshing shower, pampered yourself with extensive care and felt really good about yourself? You need that.
Sleep
A good place to start is your sleeping pattern. It’s important to realise that the key to feeling good for the day is having a good amount of sleep during the night. We have been dragging our sleeps for the sake of Netflix, Youtube and social media most of the time during the period of staying at home.
Sleeping at 3 am and waking up at 12 pm is not normal and definitely bad for your body. Fix that first, make your sleeping pattern return to normal and see the difference of energy you emit in the morning.
Body and skin care
Who doesn’t love body care and skin care session time of the day? Normally, we tend to forget and procrastinate because of our inability to spare the time to properly do the daily routine.
What else could be in the way now that we spend all of our time at our house? It’s the perfect opportunity to get back on the track and take a good care of our skin to feel clean and beautiful, even indoors.
Working out
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. A healthy body leads to a healthy mind.
For sure, many of us have been neglecting our need to work our body out now that we are locked inside our house. I know, the bed looks better and comfier. But you need to stop saying “I’ll start tomorrow.” everyday just because you know you have all the time you need to get started again. Why not today?
2. Spend good times with your family
Family is the never-changing pillar for us to get back up again when we are faced with hardships. Some of us are blessed to be around our family during the crisis, and some of us are unable to go back to our family due to the restriction and time limit.
But family is always a family, distance and obstacles don’t mean a thing when you realise the importance of being together (physically and mentally) when things get difficult. Do these activities virtually if you’re away from your family! Family time is always worth the effort.
Cook together
Cooking never feels wrong when you do it together with your family. You can be cooking the simplest dish in the world, having your family beside you will always make it better. Take this time to spend more time with your family and you will be surprised to learn new things about your family that you probably never know of.
Game night
You can play as many games as you want with your family, you will experience being alive and content more than ever the moment you get to laugh and share the joy together with your family.
People say games are the best ice breaker when it comes to strangers — I believe game night with your family is the best way to strengthen your family bond.
Movie night
Do I need to explain more? Remember the days when we gathered together at the living room, with a lot of snacks, just excited to watch a movie with our families? We all miss that.
Those days are irreplaceable and they always bring back the feeling of genuine happiness. So pick one good movie tonight and enjoy it with your family, like old times. I promise you will not regret it.
3. Create new fun with your friends
In the midst of hard times, having companies helps a lot. For some people, it might have been harder to maintain the friendship now that you are not allowed to meet outside and go on fun adventures like you used to; you’re missing the adrenaline rush when you’re having good times with your group of friends.
You are feeling down and your friends are feeling down. Keeping in touch with your friends is becoming more difficult because you have realised how much effort it takes to check up on your friends in the middle of the crisis — the more reason why we should fight together.
It’s exhausting to deal with the crisis alone, so get together with your friends to embark on this journey of sustaining our hope for better days.
Get in touch with old friends
When we are dealing with hard times, there is always that one reminder we create for ourselves — to embrace the good things we have.
We have been way too occupied with work and school that we sometimes left out what is really meaningful in our lives. We might have been putting aside the people that we cherish the most. This can be the time for us to open a new book and start a good new chapter of our lives. Get in touch with your old friends and take this opportunity to catch up with them.
Virtual party
Who says you can’t have parties with your friends like you usually do? Get creative and make the most of the technology to stay connected more than ever at times like this.
This is the 21st century. You might be locked up inside your house but you can still get dressed and dolled up like you would if you were to attend a party — and have one for real, online! Say no to mass gathering and start finding new ways to have fun with your friends online!
Find more fun ideas here;
4. Focus on your career direction
The downfall of the economy because of the crisis is something that we have no control over. A lot of people are struggling to make ends meet because of the increased rate of unemployment in the past few months. Some lost their jobs, some lost their source of income, and all of us are trying our best to survive. The pandemic is teaching us one lesson of all the things; bad days happen, it’s just a matter of time. Facing the problem is always a better solution than avoiding it. And right now, what matters is what we are doing to handle it.
Working from home
A huge number of employees started working from home ever since the crisis occurred. As exhausting and boring as it can be, we should see beyond the difficulties and acknowledge the benefits it brings without us realising. Working from home pretty much requires a lot more effort than the usual routine of working from the office.
Meaning to say, you have unknowingly acquired these skills during the period of quarantine:
- Self-discipline
- Consistency
- Time management
Not bad of a skill, right?
Career Planning
For people who lost their jobs and their financial income in the past months, it’s helpful to see the bigger picture of the current situation and think of the matters that you can take into hands for you to continue moving forward, passing the crisis.
The impact of the coronavirus on the economy simply shows us the path for a better future in terms of career to pursue. It’s no surprise to see a change of career demand in the next five years, so fill in this time to look into it and choose your next career wisely. It doesn’t hurt to do research beforehand.
5. Be your own teacher
The COVID-19 had the most impact on the education system. Students and lecturers are currently trying their hardest to continue receiving and providing education from online platforms. It has not been an easy journey and it took a long time for the society to be familiar with the improvised education system. Fortunately, education remains accessible and flexible even in the middle of a crisis.
Online studying
I get it, it’s difficult and everything feels new and foreign to suddenly start attending classes online, doing exams online and carrying out assignments and group projects online. That’s a lot to take in, especially considering the amount of time given to the students to learn and be familiar with the current education system.
But trust me, it gives you more than what the crisis can possibly take away from you. In no time, you will not hear any lecturer nag at you about your assignment, you’ll hear your own voice instead nagging at yourself to finish the assignment and submit it on time. You’ll find yourself teaching and learning at the same time.
How to Study Online Effectively
Education research
Some of you might still be confused about the pathway that you should take after graduating high school. And you are more confused now plus hesitant to continue your study looking at how the education system has changed.
Apparently, in this situation, the idea of working and earning money sounds better than studying, right? Well, I still vote for studying. Either way it’s your decision to make. But it will be helpful for you if you realise that the time given for you was intended to let you decide better on the program you should choose to promise you a good future.
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During these hard times, we are prone to feeling down and unmotivated. It seems a lot easier to drown yourself in negative thoughts and endless worries in your head than continue fighting when you are uncertain of what the future will bring.
Hence, it’s critical for us to continue hoping for better days together and never call it quits. Just a tiny bit of positivity can sometimes be enough to help us along the way.
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Nurul Nadira
I am an English undergraduate student who reads and listens to bands.