Many of us get caught into the chaos of day to day life. We’re stuck in routines that often keep us occupied from morning to night, not giving us a chance to reflect on our lives, the direction they’re taking or time for a little self-reflection.
We get up in the mornings. We get ready and often head to work. We can’t think during the commute, as we focus on the roads and traffic ahead or squeeze into crowded public transport carriages.
We face challenges in the workplace nine to five, completing projects, hitting deadlines and rushing into meetings. We head home and we start cooking our evening meal. We try to fit a little exercise in. We have a little time to let our hair down and relax before bed, where we drift off to sleep ready to do the same on the next day.
Seeing as we have so little free time, we often cram our weekends with plans. It can often feel that we don’t get a moment to ourselves. Now, the rapid spread of coronavirus across the world is a tragedy and it has thrown a spanner in the works of many of our routines.
We may quickly start feeling bored, lonely and at a loss as to what to do. But it’s important that we keep our chins up and take the positive that can be taken from any situation. Sure, isolation may be difficult. But see it as an opportunity to get to know yourself! This could improve your life for the better.
Get to Know Your Interests and Passions
So many of us subdue our interests and passions because we “don’t have the time”, or we’ll simply not have given ourselves the chance to develop hobbies and interests in our busy lives. Now you’re finding yourself with more time on your hands than ever, it’s a great time to explore your interests – as long as they can be indulged at home in some capacity. If you’ve been interested in something for a while, dive deep into it now! Always wanted to try ballet? Order some ballet shoes and follow some online tutorials. This will help you hit your recommended one hundred and fifty minutes of exercise each week too – so (as long as you stay safe and don’t push yourself too far) it’s a win-win situation all round!
Is there a lengthy book you’ve had your eye on for years but haven’t had the time to commit to? Maybe Les Miserables, War and Peace, or another classic. Order a copy and start making your way through the pages. Always wanted to learn how to embroider or knit? Order some thread, needles, frames and canvas and get started, following tutorials and perfecting your technique!
Want to speak another language? Download some language apps or invest in software like Rosetta Stone. You’ll have the basics down before you know it! Once this lockdown period ends, make sure to still commit some time to these hobbies, passions and interests you develop. They’re good for your happiness and consequently good for your wellbeing and quality of life!
Get to Know Your Emotions
So many of us aren’t understanding when it comes to our own emotions. Often, we’ll react in ways and we won’t know why. We’ll be irritable and snappy but wonder why we’ve acted in that manner. We’ll make decisions that are ultimately detrimental to us and question how we got ourselves into those situations in the first place. We’ll be drawn to people who we might be better off avoiding.
It’s time to sit down and get to know yourself. Start to self-analyse. When you get irritable, trace your emotions back to a source. If you do things that are no good for you, question why. Getting to know yourself, your reactions, your behaviour and your emotions will really help you out – allowing you to act in a way that better benefits you in the future! Writing in a journal is a great way to not only track your emotions and feelings but also work through them.
Get to Know Your Style and Preferences
We all have different tastes. Now is a good time to determine yours! If you’ve been fancying a change of any sort, now’s a good time to research, find things you like and start slowly implementing them into your life.
Always wore the same clothes but really want to take on a different style? Maybe now is the time to start wearing those vintage style clothes you’ve had your eye on, switch up your pyjamas or try a different type of lingerie you’ve admired from afar.
Always wanted a minimalist house but have found the furniture and decoration you’ve implemented so far doesn’t match this preferred aesthetic? Start decluttering.
Order some paint and rollers. Make small changes in the right direction. Pinterest tends to be a great place to gather your ideas and collect visual records of things you like. You can just pin photos to your boards, redesigning your look, your home, or anything else.
Get to Know Who’s Important in Your Life
Often, we end up spending a lot of our time entertaining and helping out others who wouldn’t do the same for us. Sure, it’s okay to have casual friends who you don’t rely on and don’t invest too much emotion into – good time friends. But it’s important for you to get to understand the different relationships and connections you have in your life and to determine how invested you should be in each.
Think of it like radiators and drains. If someone is a radiator, they bring warmth into your life. They make you happy. They make you feel cared for. If someone’s a drain, they’ll drain you of your energy. They’ll use your time and resources but never support or care for you in return.
Now, relationships aren’t black and white. Sometimes good friends will drain your time and energy but they appreciate it and will return it – this is fine. You just need to be aware of the people who use your time, energy and emotions but don’t appreciate you and don’t make you feel good. You may want to start investing more time into your radiators and distancing yourself from the drains!
Make the most of this time to yourself. Use it to get to know yourself better! You can really benefit from it.