There is no point denying that millions – billions, even – of lives have been changed pretty rapidly by the ongoing Covid-19 crisis. Think for a moment about how you started 2020. What your plans were and what your hopes entailed. Now ask yourself if any of what you had in mind has survived to the end of March. We’re living in a very peculiar era. It is OK to feel lost and troubled in the present day.
What is essential, however, is to remember that with every crisis there is a beginning and an end. At this point, no-one can say how far along the crisis is. Whether it will sustain to the end of the year or beyond. Whether it will extend into the summer or shut it down entirely. What we do know is that, at some point, this crisis will be over and we’ll have our everyday lives to go back to. However, they will be changed. That’s true for everybody.
Not all of the changes will be for the better, but the ones that you can control can be. So, below are three examples for things you can plan for now. Commit to enjoying them once this crisis is over.
Research and Prepare For a New Hobby
New Year’s resolutions are almost guaranteed to be broken. Why? Because they are decisions made on the spur of the moment. Brought on by the changing of the calendar. This leads to us making hazy plans which, in the fullness of time, get abandoned. Because they require a lot more time and effort than we were expecting.
The one thing we all have now is time. So take this chance to direct your mental energies to something you’ve wanted to do for a while. You can’t go fishing right now, but you can check saltwater flies and research places nearby where you can fish. With ingredient supply chains hit, now might not be the time to take up a new line of cooking in the kitchen. But you can buy the right utensils and make your kitchen ready for something different.
Decide Your Next Big Vacation
As we have all been advised to not make non-essential trips, jetting off to somewhere exotic is off the menu for now. That won’t always be the case, though. While you can’t step on a plane tomorrow, you can certainly put some plans together now. Look for somewhere you have never been and learn the ins and outs of the place. You could even use some newly freed-up time to learn enough of a new language to make the most of the trip. Any holiday gets better the more you anticipate it.
Reconnect with Old Friends
If we’re honest, most of us can name a few friends we have lost contact with over the years. Not because we fell out with them or they meant any less to us, but because life got in the way. Life as we know it has been stopped, so if you have a friend you regret not speaking to these days, let now be the time you seek them out on Facebook or try the last email address you had for them. You can make plans to reconnect in person when this is all over; chances are they’ve been thinking the same thing, so why not take the step?
No-one can say that the period we’re living through right now is ideal – but if you want some good to come of it, then the above are a few options you could set in motion right now.
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