I find myself struggling with writing posts lately, as I try to be mindful of the messages I present to the world. I’m trying to keep my posts pretty neutral, as I don’t want to influence the decisions people make about how they are engaging in life right now – to go out or not. There’s enough info about that being posted by everyone and their mom, so much so that it feels like white noise at this point. And while I want to offer support and encouragement, I also don’t want to come off as tone deaf to the people who are suffering in one way or another during this time.
I suppose all of that is to serve as a disclaimer. If you’re not interested in words of encouragement and hope (in a non-pop psych way, I promise), then feel free to hop off the train because this is your stop. Otherwise, I think what I have to offer is helpful and applicable in most situations.
I found myself spending all of last week helping clients to process their thoughts and feelings about COVID-19. In those sessions, I realized that the same word kept popping up for me – creativity.
We are living in a time of chaos, uncertainty, and fear. We are being asked to stay home. Some of us are either being asked to risk our health and the health of those around us by showing up to work or asked to scramble to find how to work from home. For those with children, you are being asked to figure out appropriate care of your children if you still need to work or trying to find how to keep all parties sane so you can work with the kids in the next room. And then there are those who don’t have the luxury of worrying about work because they have been laid off or are having to take some time off without pay. These are only a few of the difficulties that people are facing.
Everyone is being impacted by this in one way or another.
This is our opportunity to make a choice about how to proceed with life. Do you choose to emotionally resist this necessary change to the status quo? This is basically like attempting to pump the brakes on a wild roller coaster ride – but guess what, you don’t have access to the brakes! This may feel like burrowing deep into the feelings of isolation, loneliness, depression, and anxiety.
Or do you choose to accept our new reality? Whether it is temporary or longer term, you can choose to accept the moment as it is. Don’t confuse this with giving up. This may look like recognizing you cannot change the situation and making the conscious decision to change your attitude about it (Viktor Frankl). This is where we tap into our growth mindset and find power in creativity.
We can empower ourselves in difficult situations by being conscious in the mental shift we make about the situation. By choosing to lean into creative thinking, then you open up a world of possibilities for yourself.
This time of limited resources, limited interactions with others, and isolation at home is essentially requiring us to think creatively about how to approach daily life.
We are now being asked to be creative about:
- the things we cook, as we may not have all of our usual ingredients
- how we structure our day, whether we are working from home or not working at all
- how we fill our new downtime
- how we maintain communication and connection with others
- the use of our financial resources
- making our cleaning supplies and toiletries last longer
- how we maintain our physical health and well-being
- how to keep from feeling lonely
- etc, etc, etc
Creative thinking is a new muscle that we can choose to work out during this time. You can choose to approach this as an exciting challenge. Or you can choose to focus on how awful everything is. And yes, things beyond suck right now. But how does emotionally spiraling down the drain of negative thinking help you in the moment?
It doesn’t. Shocking, I know.
Instead, you end up suffering more from it. You suffer mentally, emotionally, and physically. If anything, you may put yourself at greater risk of getting sick as your mental health can influence your physical health and immune system.
If we are being asked to stay home for several weeks to a month (at least), that allows us the time to create new healthy habits. So all of these wonderful, creative ways that you are using to build a beautiful life in the darkest of times, are things you can maintain once we get past this pandemic and settle into our new normal. Life won’t be the same after this situation is over. There won’t be a “going back to how things used to be.” This situation is going to change us, society, and the world.
Let’s be purposeful about the positive change we wish to see in ourselves, which can help influence the positive change around us. We have the option to use this situation as an opportunity for personal growth. How incredible would it be if we can all not only grow together, but encourage each other’s growth?
We are all in this difficult situation together. Let’s put on our creative thinking hats and build a life worth living, even in the hardest of times. How are you willing to be creative about how you approach your every day life?
