Most of us if we're honest are having good days and bad days at the minute. After a couple of bad days I downloaded some podcasts given by Pastor Rick Warren - the guy who did the prayers at Barack Obama's inauguration - to his now virtual congregation. Rick gave what he called the 10 Covid commandments. I found these quite helpful and hopefully you will too as there is much wisdom here whether you are a person of faith or not
1. Show grace both to yourself and to others - cut yourself and others some slack at this time. Accept that you may not always be productive, understand that stress means that others may not behave as they would normally.
2. Start and end each day doing something that refuels the soul or re-energises you - whether it is prayer/meditation, reading, music, fresh air. Do something that increases your energy
3. Set up and stick to some sort of routine - routines and wellbeing are linked. Predictability leads to stability.
4. Stop watching so much news!
5. Schedule daily connections with those that you love - whether face to face or online. Perhaps reconnect with friends you haven't heard from in a while. Someone has to take the initiative.
6. Share and express your feelings instead of bottling them up
7. Seek advice before making any major decisions - when we are under stress we do not think as clearly as in normal times. Get a wise second opinion if it is a big decision
8. Space renewal breaks throughout the day - short 5 minute breaks regularly may be better than one longer break in terms of our energy levels as we adjust to the new normal of working from home
9. Serve someone suffering more than you - look out for opportunities to help others
10. Control what is controllable and trust God for the rest
Hope you find some of these principles helpful. What else are people learning in terms of their mental and emotional health during lockdown?
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