Into the Unknown
This may shock you. Hold on to your hats. The Unknown is one of the scariest things out there. And it has become glaringly obvious that The Unknown is something we are all dealing with every single day. With COVID-19 we have seen every aspect of our lives disrupted and there are very few certainties out there right now. Every day there is news of another thing we have to adapt to. A couple weeks ago it was losing part of the college football season. We lost the CyHawk Game. We have lost restaurants that were beloved. We have lost the Iowa State Fair this year (regardless of what you think of the fair, it is iconic and a tradition). Heck, even all our medical/therapy appointments went virtual, THAT was a transition. The current biggest issue is we are facing an uncertainty about the new school year. Colleges continue to adapt. School districts are fighting over what will happen. There is a huge divide over what is the right thing to do.
Nothing feels stable and everyone wants to make plans. The reality is any plans we make can be squashed on a moment’s notice. This makes for a really anxiety-inducing world. How can you be ready when you have to anticipate every option? Coping in these times is something I have touched on and will continue to touch on. We each are living our own version of this and because of this we all have stressors that we did not anticipate or have ever experienced previously. To counteract this, focus on things you have control over. Letting things you cannot control fall away a little can help relieve the stress that comes from the unknown. An example of this is stemming the influx of news you consume. Stay informed, I’m not suggesting that you put your head in the sand, but limit it so you don’t feel overwhelmed. Or identifying ways you can manage you. For example, we have all put on a few pounds with quarantine (maybe not all, but many) so build in a time to get outside and move. Or schedule time to do a workout. 20 minutes is all you need and you will feel like you DID something. One more way to find things that are in your control is to do something for your community. That can be making masks and distributing them, or offering assistance to an elderly neighbor (with appropriate social distancing of course). Once you start thinking about what you can control, I bet you will be able to come up with your own ideas that are way better than mine. This is a starting place. Focusing on things you can control is going to give you a direction. And having a direction moves you forward. And moving forward is how we get to the future. And the future is going to be bright. Right?
Thanks for reading & Take Care,
AmyZ
