As someone who’s almost always positive, I usually try and look for the silver lining in any situation. To me, it’s a way for me to stay sane and have hope in any situation I’m in.
If you’re needing to be lifted up right now, I completely understand. With mankind being a bit stressed out (and that’s an understatement based on pictures of empty store shelves I’m seeing from my own friends’ adventures to Costco and grocery stores) right now, I felt that it was right to send a little hope your way by finding the silver lining especially during a time where we aren’t sure we’ll be able to see light at the end of the tunnel.
As your friend, I felt compelled to write this article because well, I wouldn’t be a friend if I didn’t support you, especially during a time like this. That said, today, I wanted to create some positive content to provide some comfort for you.
Even in the midst of this difficult health situation, many opportunities are provided to you, especially if you’re experiencing cabin fever. Yes, you have opportunities right at this moment in the comfort of your own home.
“What are the opportunities then?” you ask?
Time to love and appreciate your loved ones even more.
While you’re at home, your family life might improve a lot more than you think. Hear me out. Instead of thinking you’re going to be “stuck” with one another or “drive each other crazy”, you’ll learn not to take your loved ones for granted. Ahhh, did I see a light bulb go off above your head?
With little outside influences or distractions, you’ll be forced to be present and in the moment to reconnect with one another, learn how to communicate better, and give each other space. In the end, you’re only going to strengthen your relationships and communication skills. Win-win!
Extra time to work on your health.
During a time like this, the only thing you can do is to do your best with what you actually can control. For instance, here’s what you can do because these are the things you can control: Wash your hands, take your vitamins, stay hydrated, exercise, eat healthy meals, cover your mouth if you cough or sneeze, stay home, and check in with your loved ones (especially older adults), and get more of sleep.
With plenty of free apps and resources, take the time to learn different types of exercises you’ve always wanted to try, like yoga. The best way to work on your health is to create a morning ritual or routine, also known as “me time.”
Time you’ve been needing to take action on your goals and dreams.
There’s no time like the present to go after your goals and dreams. If you’re already making waves, go harder. If you haven’t started, you’ve got no excuse to make a list of to-dos and get after it. Just make sure to break down your to-do lists into bite-size actionable steps and you’ll be good to go!
Take this time to motivate yourself to work hard. Besides, if you’re like me and work well under pressure, working on your goals is a sure-fire way to keep your mind busy and focused on positive things.
With the media not planning on changing their topic at hand any time soon, your mom calling you and reminding you how to wash your hands even though you’re in your 30s, and your friends updating their Facebook statuses every 15 minutes with posts from unverified sources and their opinions on it, I’m sure you’re bound to be stressed out.
If you’re like me and are already dealing with anxiety, there are steps you can take to help lower your stress levels.
Here’s how you can reduce your anxiety:
- Limit yourself to the amount of information you’re taking in, especially the kinds of sources you’re getting your information from, like social media. Trust your scientist, doctor, and nurse friends and reputable sources such as WHO and the CDC. Remember, scientists, doctors, and nurses are knowledgeable because of their education and experience, not those on your Facebook friends list who think they know everything.
- Fear creates anxiety and anxiety creates stress. Guess what stress does? It weakens your immune system. If you have family or friends sending you links, kindly thank them for caring and ask them to stop because it’s affecting your anxiety.
- Limit your caffeine. If you struggle with anxiety like I do, definitely limit your caffeine intake.
- Exercise. With so many online resources, you can still exercise at home. If you’re looking for some free exercise videos you can utilize during this time, Alexia Clark and Fitness Blender are my favorites.
- Watch funny movies and shows. Research shows that laughing is beneficial for your health. Check out this article from Harvard. Personally, I love watching Everybody Loves Raymond, Friends, I Love Lucy, and Frasier.
One more thing…
If you’ve been lacking sleep or complaining that you haven’t been able to get things done because you don’t have the time, keep reading.
The silver lining right now is that you get to get things you’ve been needing/wanting to get done for years crossed off your to-do list. While you stay home out of respect for those around you, let me give you 60 ideas of (creative) things you can do at home:
PERSONAL/SPIRITUAL
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- Deep clean your house, including wiping down your baseboards. It IS spring cleaning season after all!
- While you’re at it, put stuff aside for future garage or Poshmark sales.
- Clean your makeup brushes. Some of y’all know how much time this takes, ha! And while you’re at it, clean out and organize your makeup drawers.
- Do some art or color. It’s more therapeutic than you think.
- Whether it be for future emergencies, a vacation, or a “new toy” you want, put together fun budgets!
- Clean out and organize your fridge, kitchen pantry, and cupboards. You’re bound to find some expired items, ha!
- Relax and watch your favorite YouTube channels, movies, or Netflix shows.
- Go onto your favorite retailers’ websites. However, instead of making non-essential purchases, create wish lists for gift ideas for yourself and others to reference in the future.
- Have some quiet time to pray and deepen your relationship with God.
- Watch church online. Many churches like Gateway, Vous Church, and Life Church offer a way to attend services virtually. You can catch them live or watch past messages from their archives.
- Appreciate the fact that with less traffic, there’s less air pollution. I think it’s great our planet gets a small break from human activity. Take time to really listen to nature like the sound of rain and birds chirping.
- Actually enjoy the house/apartment you’re paying for that you never get to be in because you’re working!
FAMILY
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- Play board games, have dinner, or drinks with your family through FaceTime.
- Reconnect with old friends via Zoom.
- Plan, paint, or update a room in your house with your family.
- Cook/bake with your loved ones. Now is a great time to bust out great grandma’s recipes!
- Better yet, have cooking contests if you’re living with someone else. If your family is competitive, nothing like splitting into teams, setting a timer, and tasting each others concoctions, ha!
- Have someone in your family teach you something new like how to sew, knit, embroider, or cross stitch and in return, you teach them a new skill.
- Get out all of your pictures and finally put them in a photo album. Talk about walking down memory lane, am I right? Don’t forget to decide which photos get framed too!
- Send your friends funny text messages, snail mail, self-care packages, or emails.
- Watch family game shows together like Price Is Right or Family Feud.
- Do a DIY craft project together. Pinterest is where the inspiration is at!
- Have deep conversations with your parents or grandparents and ask questions. It’s a sure-fire way to hear some amazing stories from them!
- Plan your next family vacation. I mean, prices are super cheap right now, haha!
HEALTH & WELLNESS
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- Escape life by reading fiction books. I’m currently reading China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan right now.
- Strengthen your mindset and learn something valuable by reading personal development books. Here are some of my favorite books I’ve read in general.
- One creative thing you can do at home is to put your inner chef to the test. Get creative in the kitchen and try new recipes from those cookbooks you’ve purchased, but never read/used.
- Take a nap. Heck, take a lot of naps! Can’t complain that you didn’t get enough sleep when you have to physically go back to work later, haha!
- Try some yoga or mediating. The Yoga Studio app is my favorite!
- Listen to some new podcasts to stay motivated or learn something new. My favorite is School of Greatness by Lewis Howes.
- Grab a glass of wine and go on virtual museum tours. Yeah, you heard me right!
- Take a long shower (I mean, the exfoliating kind) or bath. Time to bust out those bath salts and self-tanner!
- Put on a much-needed face mask to relax.
- Give yourself a mani/pedi. I linked an at home gel manicure kit below. You can also watch this IGTV video tutorial and learn how to remove gel nail polish at home.
- Use some new skincare or makeup products you’ve been meaning to try and set yourself a skincare routine. Get creative and create some fun makeup looks too!
- Laugh at some of the memes going around because there are some funny ones people have made to lighten the mood.
BUSINESS
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- Finish your taxes. I know, you’ve got no excuses now, lol!
- Redesign, update, or build the website you’ve been needing for your business.
- Update your resume that you’ve been putting off.
- Organize your Pinterest boards.
- Read and respond to those emails that are sitting in your inbox. Speaking of, clean out your inbox and organize your emails into folders.
- One creative thing you can do at home is teach yourself how to make short-form videos. TikTok is a great, fun, no-pressure platform.
- Send an email to your clients and the brands you’re working with and check in with them.
- Send out a fun and creative newsletter to those on your email subscriber list. Feel free to share your well wishes too.
- Clean up and organize your own home office or desk area, especially if you work from home. You know those drawers need to be decluttered! And while you’re at it, file away all those receipts and paperwork you’ve got in boxes.
- Take free online classes from Ivy League schools.
- Get ahead on your content for the summer. Crank out and schedule blog articles and social media posts.
- Another creative thing you can do at home is to update, if not, create your vision board.
EXTERNAL SUPPORT
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- Support small businesses by purchasing virtual gift cards or gift certificates to use later.
- Donate to organizations that need help right now. Make sure to do some research to see how they allocate their money.
- Call your local school district or food bank to see how you can donate for kids who won’t have anything to eat while they’re out on extended leave from school.
- Start a fundraiser with a group of friends. This is something you can totally do virtually!
- Check on your friends who own businesses and ask them how you can support them. Small acts such as sharing a link to their website or commenting on an article they wrote would mean a lot.
- Engage with your blogger friends’ posts. Some people might be receiving work during this time to advertise for brands. The least you can do is leave a little love for them.
- No matter the size of your following, use your platform for good. Chiara Ferragni is a well-known influencer who is doing so much good for the hospital community in her home country of Italy.
- Help older adults by taking trips to the grocery store for them. It may not be a big deal to some, but to the elderly and those who have respiratory issues (like asthma) or underlying conditions, it is.
- Write a review on Google or Yelp for your favorite small businesses you’ve purchased from in the past or recently.
- Don’t spread information you may not know about. I understand that there are people who do it because they care, but it’s best to share information from health professionals, not what you think is going to happen. From my personal friends who are nurses, they have shared their two cents and are begging people not go to the ER just to check on possible symptoms. Please don’t inundate them unless it’s a life-threatening emergency.
- Stay calm in the midst of this situation. When you’re at peace, you spread that peace to others.
- Whatever your belief system is, send good vibes/pray for our nation and the world to not only heal from any health issues, but from the stress it’s causing everyone right now. Be a positive light. Now more than ever, people need positive vibes, so be that person and be kind.
One last thing…please stop complaining.
I get that traveling and gatherings have been limited and events are getting canceled. However, I want you to understand a few things. No one wants to be sick or cooped up in their homes. Nor do people want to cancel events that have been planned months in advance. Canceling events as is a double-edged sword. Yes, you can’t go. But people are also losing business/money in the process. They’re affected too. I need you to see that those who are making those difficult decisions are doing it because they care about your safety and well-being as well as the public’s health and well-being..
Everyone is impacted.
Some people are dealing with health issues. Others are having to stay exposed so they can take care of those who are ill. People are losing money from businesses they’ve built from the ground up. Executives of large companies are embarking on uncharted territory to try and make the best decisions for their employees and their customers. Custodians are working overtime to keep things sanitary. And warehouse workers are loading trucks like crazy to keep our stores stocked.
During this time, whatever your position is, please learn to appreciate what others are doing AND accept help on deeper levels if you need it.
As crazy as life has been, there is so much good in each moment if you take the time to look for it.
How we’ll get through this begins with our mindset. Please remember, what we give power to, has power over us, if we let it.
During times like these, it’s my hope that as we push forward, we must have unrelenting faith, remain positive, stay confident, and love each other.
Let’s support each other across the globe by staying positive and finding the good in people and in this difficult situation.
For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. – 2 Timothy 1:7
And from a blogger/influencer’s perspective, please don’t bash those in our industry.
We’re creating content as a way for you (and us) to escape. It’s a means of living as it’s a full-time job for some. For others, it’s extra income we need to make the bills. A lot of us really do want to be mindful so please be patient with us as we learn how to navigate this while serving you.
Overall, please keep hurtful or work-shaming comments to yourself and be respectful towards everyone who’s trying to continue to provide for their families.
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