So now we’re adapted to the reality there is a virus, we will remain socially distant until the end of the year, and no one knows what the other side of this pandemic will look like. Now there are two historical dividing lines; Before Covid (BC) and After Covid (AC). As a result, our lives moving forward will be oriented around these two lines.
My husband and I like to end our day watching an entertaining British murder mystery. Lately we’ve noticed that little in these shows represents our current reality. People are sitting close together, shaking hands, and going into offices. We find it unsettling that even our media, music, movies, and television no longer reflect our current long-term situation.
We are living in fast motion in a world where the past is over, the present has little in common with the past, and the future is not formed yet. So how do we cope with the AC world having lost the familiar bearings of BC?
Tools for the World After Covid (AC)
1) Put on your creativity hat and ask yourself and those you live with how you make your current life rewarding and enjoyable hunkering down between here and the end of the year.
2) Look at how to re-invent your typical routines (exercise, get togethers, and vacations) within our current limits. Don’t deprive yourself of the comfort of these routines just because you cannot do them the way you always did.
3) Adapt to the necessity of change in how we do just about everything. The faster you submit to your new limits, the quicker you will enjoy a new high quality of life.
4) Grieve what you have lost but also remember to truly appreciate what is working well in your life. Research tells us that gratitude offsets suffering during periods of loss.
5) Remind yourself that nothing absolutely nothing stays the same. Yes, we will hunker down most likely between here and December. However, once you get adapted to our After Covid world, changes will continue to happen.
6) See this time as a universal classroom on resiliency and personal change management. I can guarantee this won’t be the last intense adversity any of us face. Moreover, the tools, self-knowledge, and skills we learn during this time will permanently improve our lives.
Be aware as well that a lot of our next year is going to be about risk management not complete risk avoidance. Consider all the other risky activities you do like driving. You cannot drive and avoid all risk. Right now we cannot live and avoid all risks. What we can do is be discerning and realistic about what risks are worth taking. We also need to trust our own ability to research, read, and study new medical developments so we make informed decisions about each risk we take.
May you be well, may you be at peace, may you come out of this crisis better than you went in…
Warmly,
Dr. Skube