10 Suggested Habits to Cope With “The Way of the World, 2020”

One of the realities of world in 2020 which has required social distancing, working from home, etc., is that a number of different presentations and webinars have been made available to people. I had the pleasure of attending one such session a few weeks back that was sponsored by a company for whom I sub-contract.

The presenter was John Uprichard and his presentation was “The Power of Mindset.” John is the CEO of an executive recruiting firm. One part of John’s presentation focused on 10 suggestions for developing habits to help cope in a “COVID-19” based world. With so many individuals having their lives uprooted, it is very easy to go into periods of negative feelings. Although John made 10 suggestions, which I will share below, he challenged each attendee to look to implement two of them into their daily lives. Here now are the suggestions, and things you may consider doing to help to add some positive feelings into each of your days.

1.) A Daily Gratitude Sprint. This is not a gratitude journal which are so popular these days. Instead it is just thinking to yourself of those things in your life that you are most grateful, (it could be having shelter, not being sick, knowing that your family is doing well). Many people may not have the things for which you are grateful.

2.) Do a weekly act of kindness for someone, Pay It Forward. It could be going grocery shopping for an elderly neighbor, being a listener to someone in job search, calling a person on your list of friends, (or perhaps your holiday card list), to see how they are doing.

3.) Determine something you will do, call someone else to let them know you are doing it, and have them call you back to see if you did it. This is called holding you accountable for the task. So if there is that closet you wanted to clean out, those calls or letters you have been meaning to do, or some task that is going to take a push to get done, have someone be your “accountability partner” through it.

4.) Ask “How can I do more?” If you feel bored, or feel like you are getting into the same old routine, and are looking to bring something different in your life, question where you can spend your time doing something of value. To the extent it may help another, all the better.

5.) Start the day with a reflection, meditation or devotional period. Use this time to calm yourself down and not overwhelm yourself that things seem to be the same, day after day.

6.) If you now have a lot fuller household than before, (college students back home living with you, people not going to work or activities), you are more likely to have family dinner together. Have each member at dinner share their “Favorite Part of the Day” with each other. It will become a focus for each family member to make sure they have something positive to say at dinner time.

7.) If you cannot see people in person, or if people are reluctant to connect in person, even with things opening up, stay connected digitally. My wife is one of nine siblings and this is something we have done as a family a few times and it has been well received.

8.) Listen to positive, upbeat music. This varies from person to person. We all have our favorite styles. Take the time to enjoy yours.

9.) Stay active and exercise with family and others. Perhaps go for a walk, or a bike ride. And, if friends are not near, you could look to do a virtual exercise routine with them.

10.) Control the frequency and volume of news you hear from reputable sources. News reports are skewed to give us the “worst” of what is happening. While it is important to stay informed, it is not necessary to stay involved in every little detail of every report. Selectively choose the information you need to stay informed, but “not get involved in the drama.”