This year has been insane, so unexpected that we would ever find ourselves in the middle of a pandemic. We are nearing the end of August and I genuinely feel as though it is still March. One positive side of this experience is the opportunity most people have had to slow down, reconnect with those in their household, and even start new hobbies. We have had to find a new way of life, instead of just returning back to how things were, we should consider the reasons we followed our old routines. Allow yourself space and time to completely reevaluate why you do, what you do. Hopefully these 8 life lessons can help you with some areas to think about.
8 Life lessons we can learn from lockdown
Mindfulness
As defined by mindful.org, mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing. Personally, lockdown has enabled me to really think about my life on such a deep level and even reflect over the past few years. Not only did I establish life lessons from lockdown, but I realised just how far my mindset has developed over years. In some cases, realising that I now feel completely different about things that I cared about a couple of years back. In our normal busy lives, it’s easy to get caught up in the day to day and forget to actually reflect and focus on your mindset and how you are feeling.
Learning to be present
Having more free time allows you to realise how much we are often multitasking and very often, not doing a very good job of either. I have always been bad for watching TV but I will also either be on my laptop or phone. I believe this contributes to me feeling like I never have down time and that’s because I am not allowing myself just to switch off and focus on one thing. You don’t need to be productive all the time, you have to rest. On the flip side, how many times are you doing this around loved ones? I try to now dedicate moments where just being with them is all I am doing. Arrange a movie night, play a game together and put the damn phone down!
Doing what you feel in the moment
When we aren’t so pressed for time, it’s easier to rearrange your plans, to give yourself time to relax if you need it. Be conscientious if you are just being lazy, but also identify what really needs to be done right away and what can wait. Sometimes you will enjoy a ‘cheat’ a lot more than a planned day off – just make sure you get back on track.
E-learning & investing in yourself
There seemed to be this influx of people looking for courses, it could have been because there were so many offers around at the beginning of lockdown or lots of people wanted to find productive ways of using their spare time. Regardless, just looking around at whats available in the e-learning and courses sector, you realise just how much opportunity there is online. You really can learn anything. We’re so quick to spend money on a night out or new clothes – but I’m sure alot of people would agree in that we would hesitate if it was a course for ourselves. Remember to invest in YOU – professionally or personally!
What do you value?
With all this new free time, a lot of people have been analysing how they have been living now compared to how they did before the pandemic. It seems most people have realised they actually like a slower pace of life and to spend more quality time with people and on the things they genuinely enjoy.
Appreciating freedom
Things you take for granted become so apparent when the options are no longer there for you to choose. Lockdown has made me appreciate the fact that we are able to book trips and easily go to different countries. I’m wondering if there will eventually be a surge in people wishing to travel, due to it not even being a choice for months and months. Maybe not this year, whilst times are still uncertain, however, in years to come I think this could be the case.
Gratitude for our ‘normal life’
There are so many little things that I began to miss about life before the pandemic. Just quickly going into a shop or going in with someone else. Being able to plan and choosing different things to do, planning trips far or close, meeting up with friends. I do think a lot of this is because that’s all we have known and what we are used to. I believe new measures could be in place for some time and we will get used to those as well, but I have this newfound gratitude for how simple things were.
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