Dealing with times of uncertainty

3 weeks ago I was part of the crowd that thought this was all being over played and we didn’t need to be as precautious as everyone was thinking (aka stocking up on toilet paper).

3 weeks ago I was still in school living my life as normal, getting up at the crack of dawn to go to the gym, hang out with people, and just not really have a care in the world.

Now today, everything is closed. Minnesota went on full lock down on Saturday and here I am, working from home and making the best out of this situation.

I have no idea what my future looks like at this point.

For those who don’t know, I was a building substitute at an elementary school. Which means that I showed up to one school every day and they would just plug me in wherever they needed me (teaching sub, specialists, intervention, special education, etc.). Which for someone who didn’t land a classroom, this is the next best job. It’s way better than being a district substitute where you have to wake up early to see if there is a job for me, or walking into a different school every day with students you don’t know.

Anyways, with the schools being closed, that changes my job a bit because I’m not a teacher who is making lessons, but at the same time, I’m not a paraprofessional (someone who works with the special ed. students), who have different jobs in the building. So when they closed schools I had no idea where I stood. I didn’t know if I was going to be getting paid. I didn’t know what I was expected to do in order to get a paycheck, they talked about cleaning the school, distributing meals, etc. in order to use me to help out.

What ended up happening though, is that each district has an ‘essential child care’ for parents to drop of their kids if they are deemed an essential worker and have to report to work every day. My job then is to go and work with groups of students and supervise through the day. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous to go and be surrounded by a bunch of people who could give me the virus and I could bring it home to someone in my own home. But I’m grateful to work and have a paycheck unlike so many people during this time and I applaud all of our health care professionals and other individuals who are working every day on the front lines.

Nobody has any idea how long this virus is going to last. Nobody can predict our future except just letting it run its course and waiting.

That sucks. A lot.

There’s no denying that everyone’s lives are being upended, we all have to find new normals, and I am in the same boat as a lot of others who are struggling mentally and physically through this uncertainty.

I wish there was a formula that I could give you that says ‘follow this and you’ll feel better’. But there isn’t.

I am so grateful to have my coaching platform and I am choosing to use this time to build up my business, to learn more, and to help more people. I am not going to let this time at home be anything other than a huge step forward.

We have never had this much time in our day. Use it. Do what you’ve always wanted to do. Don’t let those negative thoughts get to you.

Dealing with times of uncertainty, I find it helps to really just lean on those near to me. This situation would be significantly harder if I didn’t live with my family and I wasn’t able to see Cody. Difficult times either tear people a part of they get out closer than they’ve been. Use these times to have those hard conversations, talk openly with your family about your thoughts, and don’t shy away from your feelings and bottle them up. Lean on those closest to you for comfort, for love, for support, we are all going to get out of this together.

Life is so much easier when you are supported and cared for. If you don’t have that with the people you live with, use group facetimes to talk to your friends and coworkers, or your family that doesn’t live by you. Join a support group, get a fitness coach, talk to people out on walks or in the grocery store.

Find someone to give you a sense of normalcy.

It has also helped me to prioritize the things I need to do every day. We don’t have control over everything, but we do have control in certain areas of our life. I use a Power List every day, which is Andy Frisella’s idea where you write down 5 critical tasks to do every day. If you complete each of the 5 things, you win the day. If not, you lose. The idea is that the more wins you string along, the more motivated and disciplined you’ll become.

Crossing off 5 things a day could be as simple as ‘get outside for 45 minutes’ , ‘reply to comments on Instagram’ , or ‘drink a gallon of water’. It’s not a lot but doing something is better than sitting around and watching the news every day and living in fear of this thing. You have control over the foods you eat, your workouts, and the water you drink. There’s obviously others but don’t overcomplicate what you can accomplish during this time.

Having a plan of action for the day is beneficial now and always. Make the most of your day.

It’s one step at a time. It’s one day at a time. Life is always uncertain. Nobody ever knows when they’re going to get laid off, when a huge storm is going to come through, nobody knows what tomorrow looks like ever. This is no different.

Spend your morning writing down 3 things you’re grateful for. Send a text to an old friend. Get outdoors.

We have more time now than we’ve ever had, use it as an opportunity to do what you’ve always wanted to do.

We can either live in fear or we can choose to look at each day as a gift and walk left foot in front of your right until you’re out of the thick of it. Imagine what your life could look like at the end of all this. Imagine how full your heart could be from all the family time. Imagine your finances from not going out to eat all the time. Imagine your body from playing more or walking or working out.

Our life will be exactly how we make it. Choose to make times of uncertainty, times of opportunity.