As the country continues to reopen, through all the challenges and changes of the past few months, let’s take a moment to reflect on some of the positive lessons learned from our COVID experiences.
As a population, we have managed to adapt to the new norm, to go back to basics and to reconnect with what is important to us. Instead of returning to business as usual, let’s move forward knowing out path will take us in a slightly new direction, accept that things have changed and strive to thrive in a positive way.
Video calls and virtual experiences have been instrumental in our overall well-being throughout the COVID closures. The telehealth industry allowed patients to have virtual appointments with health care providers. Virtual opportunities such as Zoom and Facetime allowed fitness participants to work out together or with their trainers and kids to continue on with their lessons. No matter how we did it, whatever method we used, we were able to stay connected, learning a little something about technology along the way.
Technology also played a very important role allowing many of us to learn and work from home. Whether home schooling or an at home office, the last few months would not have been possible a few years ago, technology was not there yet.
Having a complete upheaval of our normal schedules during the pandemic has allowed many people to cut back on our usual hustle and bustle. That all-important downtime allowed people to focus on self-care and actually have a few minutes in the day to do nothing. Let’s try to remember what that sense of calm felt like, prioritizing that downtime, knowing just how much of a benefit it brings to our lives.
General hygiene has always been important, not just when there is a virus. We all know the drill, wet your hands, lather them with soap, scrub for 20 seconds, rinse and dry with a clean towel. It really is the best way to keep safe as soap has always been a very effective way to kill viruses. Remember when we used to walk into a store and not even think about touch points… ok maybe we should not try to remember that! Wash Your Hands!
If you feel sick, just stay home. Lots of people feel like their office environment does not encourage sick days. This mentality needs to stop! If you are sick, just stay home.
Staying home has forced many people to learn, re-learn or re-ignite their love for learning, for creating, for improving. Whether it was learning to cook, home improvement projects, wood working or something crafty, that extra bit of time the COVID closures brought reconnected us with that sense of reward, accomplishment doing things our self brings.
We learned to get outdoors! Enjoying the world around us while getting fresh air and getting out of the house. It was fantastic to see people back out in their neighborhoods, walking, running, biking, playing.
It’s been hard for some to just be still, stay home and do nothing. Being alone, especially for extroverts, can be exhausting and lonely. Physical distancing is difficult. However, this time has taught us a lot about ourselves. We’ve learned how to keep ourselves busy. We’ve re-learned to connect with what is important to us. We’ve come to appreciate that spending time with loved ones, either in person, online or virtually is what has helped many of us survive the long stretches of being confined. We’ve learned that having more time is not all bad and that staying home has many positives.