Finding Something to Smile About
How to Find Your Smile After 6 Months of Quarantine
If there is one thing, we can all agree on it’s that this year has been an absolute slog. As time marches on, self-isolation and the fear of the unknown are wearing down our resilience.
I get it, but I am hear to say that we all need to find our second wind and hang on. Getting to November 3rd in tact both mentally and financially is all you should be focused on right now.
That said, let’s tackle the issue of depression. Many of us have fallen out of our routines. Feeling like you’re in a state of limbo is terrible on the psyche. It’s important to maintain a daily and weekly schedule that closely resembles your pre-confinement regimen to include waking up, showering, dressing well and eating structured meals at regular times. It might be tempting to stay up late or sleep in, but such sleeping issues are associated with risk factors for depression.
On the business front, most of what we are all facing is tough stuff. That said, you are going to need a healthy mindset in order to deal with hard decision-making. It’s never been more important to get the blood flowing – so commit to at least taking a walk every morning before you pull up a chair for work. Most people don’t exercise because the time commitment they believe they have to invest. I promise you, a 30-minute walk (even up and down a flight of stairs in your home) is easy and will radically alter your mood and strengthen your mental fitness. It takes 19 days to create a habit so force yourself to commit.
Face the tough stuff head on. It’s so tempting to avoid the stressful realities of life these days. Dealing with creditors, insurance companies, employees…it is all hard. You have to set goals every day. What I do? I have found success by dividing my days into blocks of time to be in control of how much energy I spend on negative things. That way the bad stuff doesn’t consume me. I block one hour in the morning to work on my “worst” job of the day. It is a block of time I have actually come to enjoy because each day that I’ve tackled something I hate; I feel more confident in my abilities and closer a resolution. I don’t always get a positive outcome but I always get closure and that helps me to keep moving forward. I spend at least 2 hours every day on being creative, learning new things or tackling a project that I like or developing a new skill. I have NEVER been tech savvy but thanks to COVID lockdowns, I am certified in 5 different digital design programs. Learning new skills has turned my sense of being overwhelmed into a sense of “I got this.”
Our industry is operating at 10% (or less if you’re a charter bus operator). Who would have thought we could do this for 6 months? We have already tackled the impossible. We must continue to bet on ourselves. Do so, requires a healthy attitude which comes from within. Let’s pull ourselves up and out of this funk. If we get financial relief by November 3, great, but let’s stay busy while we await hear from our government and to find out who is going to be in control of our country’s agenda in 46 days from now.
Stay Safe, Stay Strong,
Sara Eastwood-Richardson
