Being surrounded by so much bad news, so much illness, so much restriction on our daily activities, it becomes really difficult to maintain the positivity that we need for our own sanity.
Last week I gave some tips on Beating Anxiety. A few days ago I focused on Hope. Today I want to encourage you to stay positive and, maybe, give you some ideas to help you do that.
Turn off the news! Stay informed, but realize that the news media thrives on sensationalism and repetition. The 6:00 News is the same as the 5:00 News. Watching the news all day long will focus your mind on the negative and not give you any opportunity to focus on positive thoughts.
Limit social media time (I will contradict this later). A lot of social media posts focus on conspiracy and doom and gloom. Again, stay informed and stay connected, but don’t spend a huge chunk of your time dwelling on those things. Get off the little screens and do something else.
Be entertained. Read a book. Watch a movie. Listen to a podcast. There are a multitude of positive and encouraging videos on TedTalks and YouTube. Today I listened to a presentation by John Maxwell on Facebook. He was live on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but I had missed his Sunday video and I was able to catch it today. Play games with those in your home.
Get physical. I pointed out the significance of physical activity to alleviate anxiety in a previous post. Use a treadmill or a stationary bike. If you can do it locally, go out for a run, a walk, or a bike ride. You can even get with a small number of people and still maintain social distance. Unfortunately, trail head and park parking lots are suddenly overcrowded. The abuse of these facilities is going to end up with us losing access to them. If a trail or a parking lot is crowded, go somewhere else, or, better, stay within walking distance of home. Exercise is a powerful tool for building a positive attitude.
Stay connected. Hopefully, you are lucky enough to be sheltering with family or roommates. As human beings, we need human contact. Even if we are not stuck at home alone, we still need other humans in our lives. octal media is a great tool for staying in touch. Zoom.us is a great interactive medium. Many of my friends are hosting virtual happy hours, in addition to business meetings and school classes.
Look for beauty. I am sharing a few pictures from my yard today. Home improvement stores are bustling, even with social distancing restrictions. People are planting and fixing and yard working and the results are wonderful. Not only do we get the physical activity and the fresh air, we also get the satisfaction of and the results of our work.
Truth be told, it really is in your head. Don’t misunderstand me, the difficulties are real and I’m not understating the seriousness of the issues we are all facing. Our reaction and attitude towards it is in our control. We can choose to be positive or negative. I am not saying it is easy, but it is in our control. We can choose positivity.
