How to Thrive And Achieve Results Amidst COVID-19

It is Day 2 of lockdown here in South Africa. As I look outside my window in our small estate I see a couple and their kids taking a leisurely walk. Ahead of them is a lady walking her two dogs. One would mistake it for a normal day except that we cannot go outside our estate we are compiled to stay in our homes for the next three weeks. The rationale you ask? well, it is to try and flatten the curve and have fewer cases of the Covid -19 virus so that the medical system does not collapse. Everyone has a strategy in mind and indeed they ought to. Below I share some strategies that we as a family are embracing to ensure we not only remain safe but also thrive and achieve results amidst this crisis.

#Embrace A New Normal

Let us face it no one knows if after 21 days we will go back to how life used to be. I am finding that instead of insisting on going back to my daily schedule, it helps when we take one day at a time. Currently, we are aiming for three results these are, getting some school work done, ensuring that we read books and have time for exercise. Once these three are done, we know we have been successful that day.

We are allowing ourselves to take it slow and accept that sometimes it is okay for there to be dirty dinner dishes in the kitchen sink because our teenage son who is supposed to wash them just needs 10 minutes of playing his Fortnite game. The children are processing this uncertainty in different ways and ours is to encourage them that everything will be OK instead of shouting at them.

Embracing a new normal means keeping in mind that after this pandemic what we thought was working for us may not work anymore and therefore we need to be ready to pivot and take a different direction. In order to do this, one needs to hold on to an anchor that is permanent. In our case, it is Jesus Christ who has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He also promised that when we go through the storms of life He will be with us and we will not be consumed.

# Maintain an open Mindset

What this pandemic has done is disrupt how people work. The advice I am giving people is to be open and avoid thinking they cannot achieve the results they would have got if they were working in their offices. I have shared how as a working/stay at home mum I structure my day by using time blocking to ensure that I am productive.  I even have a time blocking sheet which you can download for FREE HERE.

Maintaining an open mindset also means you are ready to learn the lessons that this whole saga is giving us each day. One of the things God promises to give us freely without finding fault is wisdom. Let us, therefore, ask Him for wisdom to understand how we can position ourselves for the new future that has taken all of us by surprise. I am reminded of the quote by Eric Hoffer

\”In times of change, LEARNERS inherit the earth while the LEARNED find themselves equipped for a world that no longer exists\”.

Let us, therefore, remain open-minded and become learners so that we are equipped for the new that is clearly at our doorsteps.

#Reach Out More Than Before

While referring to Hugh Masekela\’s Song Thuma Mina (Send me) President Ramaphosa in his inaugural address on this pandemic called on all South Africans to embrace this as a Thuma Mina moment and look out for how they can be of help. A Thuma Mina moment may mean offering to do groceries for a disadvantaged person instead of stocking up on food while others go hungry. Thuma Mina moments are also giving a smile and reassuring someone who appears distressed. I have found that when I did any of these actions, it made me feel better as there was a clear win/win moment.

#Do Not Stare At The Closed Door

We have all lost one thing or another as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic. It makes no sense to keep staring at a door that has closed and may never open again. Recently I read that psychologists have discovered that just as there is post-dramatic disorder, there is also post dramatic growth which happens when one becomes better after a crisis. People who experience it are those who choose to remember that when one door closes another often opens and sometimes it\’s better.

#Feed Your Faith and Starve Your Fear 

In times of uncertainty, we are bound to feel fear and this is very normal. However, instead of allowing fear to grow, you need to starve it by feeding your faith instead. In a bid to feed my faith, I am soaking myself in hearing positive messages reminding me that God is still good and that our best days are still ahead of us. The good thing about experiencing a pandemic in the 21st century is that we are connected globally. I am taking advantage of the various online church services and sometimes I attend three services in three different continents. The result of this is that my faith tank is full and I can keep thriving

Finally,

In order to thrive and achieve results amidst COVID-19, attitude is paramount. Unless one develops and maintains a positive attitude where they choose to focus on what is working instead of what is not the situation may seem blue. Living with a positive attitude may be what one needs to pull through when unfortunately they eventually contract the virus and have to fight for their life. Let us always keep in mind that there is good news – the number of survivors of this pandemic is more than its victims. In addition, the pandemic has also brought us closer as we fight a common enemy. Let us, therefore, keep our positive attitudes and choose to be the light that shows others that there is hope even in the worst of times.