The world’s in a crisis, everybody is stuck at home, and your family members are all getting on your nerves. It is easy to spin into negativity and forget all of the positive things that can be taken away from this experience. For example, when was the last time you played a board game with your family? When was the last time you actually took your time and enjoyed being outside? When was the last time you learned a little something about yourself? The time is now and if you have been feeling a little negative lately, here are some ways to stay positive even if things seem a little grim.
Grow Your Own Plants
It is spring and the perfect time to plant little seedlings of your choice. Not only will growing a plant give you something to take care of besides yourself, but it is always fun to keep track of your plant’s progress. Having a plant also gives you the opportunity for some crafting. If you buy a clay pot, you can paint something bright and fun on it. When the time comes for everyone to go back to work, a plant would make a nice addition to your apartment, dorm, or desk.
Get In Touch With Nature
Just because it’s a good idea to isolate yourself from others doesn’t mean you have to stay inside (and I know you’re getting tired of being inside your house). Take the opportunity while its nice out to go for a run or walk, explore a nearby park, look into some nature trails, take up nature photography, or ride a bike. The possibilities are endless. For some who may not be early risers, it might be fun to watch the sunrise you haven’t seen in awhile. It is easy to get caught up in the daily hustle when we have a strict schedule. Take the opportunity to really look around you and notice all the small things you don’t always see when you have other things on your mind.
Spend Time With Your Family
Family time often takes a backseat in life because everyone is busy doing their own thing. Now that everyone is home, it would be the perfect time to play some board games or card games, watch a movie together or sit down for a weekly TV show, make breakfast together, or go on a little drive. You may be surprised and find out that being stuck in the same house is actually a blessing and not just a curse.
Find Your Inner Artist
Crafting is something fun to do no matter what age you are and it is also something you can do with your family. You could take up painting, sketching, macrame, jewelry-making, pottery, card-making, or coloring. It all depends on what you enjoy. You can make the items for you or someone you care about. Who knows, maybe you will find a hidden talent that could turn into a side hustle.
Stay In Touch With Your Friends
Even if your friends live far away or they are self-isolating, you can still find ways to stay in touch. You can always find time to video chat, talk on the phone, message them silly videos or memes on social media, or you could send them a letter via snail mail. Everybody loves to get fun things in the mail and it gives you something to hold onto when all of today’s issues resolve. Then you can tell your friends, “Hey! Remember that one time when there was a world pandemic and we had to self-isolate so we wrote each other these letters?” It’ll be proof to say that you and your friends made it through.
Come To Terms With Being Alone
Spending time with yourself is not always something people excel at. Some people who may be more extroverted are really struggling. Others who may be more introverted are living it up. Whether you are extroverted or introverted, a good alternative to being bored or lonely is finding ways to learn more about yourself. This could be through working out, doing yoga, reading a book, listening to music, dancing around your room, completing a puzzle, or writing in a journal. This is a good time to reflect on yourself and how you want to move forward in your life.
Give
Giving is possibly one of the most important things to remember in order to keep yourself positive, but it will also help others around you stay positive. Everyone could probably use a little reminder that through hard times it is best to show love and stay hopeful. There are older people in nursing homes who are suffering a little extra from loneliness and could use a card or flowers to know that people still care about them and are waiting to see them. It may not be the best time to visit your grandparents, but they would enjoy receiving a hand-made gift you crafted in your free time. Give your business to those in your community. It would be a good idea to buy gift cards from stores or order food to-go from your local restaurants to help them through these tough economic times. If you can give nothing else, give your love, your patience, and your support to those around you. An individual will not conquer this battle alone. It will take the whole community.
The world may be in crisis, but that doesn’t mean life needs to be negative. Take this opportunity to slow down and look around you. There are so many things in your life worth appreciating. Nobody is alone in this. You and your community have to support each other. Hopefully this will all be over soon and everyone will have learned something new from this experience.