COVID Coping – Make the Most of This Downtime

There are TONS of experts and podcasts and blog entries about the Corona virus aka COVID-19. I’m not going touch on preventative measures which are better explained at length by others. What I want to touch on, assuming you are following the social isolation protocol, is ways to spend this “downtime” in ways to benefit you and your family!

Why not use the COVID-19 induced isolation to improve and know yourself better?!? Try this exercise!

  • Write YOUR obituary!

That’s right…I just killed you metaphorically! You will actually write two of them from the basis that you died at 90 years old…

The 1st obit will be as if you kept living as you have been up to this point (regrets/fears/insecurities…).

For the 2nd obit change yourself into the IDEAL YOU and you have lived your life with confidence, authenticity and without any regrets!

YOU decide who you will be!!!

  • Kids Crowding You? Teach Them Life Skills!

Learning doesn’t just happen at school. There are TONS of things to teach your children no matter the age. Some of the ideas can be a bit dry or dull, but this is a perfect time to instill the notion that life cannot and will not always be NOVEL (new/exciting)…even if the media cannot stop talking about the “novel corona virus!” Here are some brief suggestions

  1. Try family meditation/breathing exercises.
  2. Teach core life skills they will need when they graduate high school:
    • How a bank account and balancing a check book works
    • Basic budgeting
    • Long and short term goal setting/life vision
    • Role play emotional situations and how to best navigate them
    • Talk about SEX (this topic shouldn’t be uncomfortable to anyone as that is how we all got here on planet Earth)!
    • Drugs and Rock’n’Roll — Pros/Cons and long/short term consequences! (adolescent brains (roughly 12-24 years old) haven’t typically developed the part of the brain which can plan and understand future consequences of current actions! Many adults suffer from this problem as well…especially while drinking as alcohol inhibits that part of the brain (prefrontal cortex).
  3. Hiking, biking, fishing and other outdoors activities that don’t involve crowded spaces are still a good idea
  4. Books like “Unbored: The Essential Field Guide to Serious Fun” and “The Daring Book for Girls” give creative ways to engage with your child. Ask your child what they are interested in and show interest in what they are interested in WITHOUT JUDGMENT! This will increase the bond you have and give you insight into the little people they are becoming.
  • Be sure to take time for yourself

…to slow down and take care of YOU! If you are ran ragged, then what is left for your family? This should be a daily practice without the need for a global pandemic panic! Maybe NOW IS THE TIME for you to start and change your identity as someone who takes care of them self so they can take care of those most important to them! This is an inside-out identity based change…as any REAL change is!

Hope you got something from this list. There are plenty of ideas out there. It’s worth a Google! As always, reach out if you have questions. An understanding ear is just an email away!

Jonathan

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