I literally want to chuck my phone out my bedroom window and go off the grid forever. My mouth nearly hits the floor — not at any coronavirus-related news — but at how some people are handling it. Particularly, their attitudes.
A montage of negative posts on social media have come spiraling down like an avalanche every day since the announcement. People castigate the virus, those in power making decisions and life in general for this sudden outbreak.
One post in particular stood out to me, as part of the caption read, “this whole thing is so unfair to me and my friends.”
Kim, there’s literally people that are dying. Sweetheart, you and your friends are going to be just fine. Literally bye.
Whether we like it or not, we currently find ourselves in the midst of a global crisis that will define our lifetimes, take countless lives and wreak havoc on the economy. And literally all we have to do to protect ourselves is simply stay home, as experts continuously echo.
Honey, let’s take a moment and remind ourselves that life could be a lot worse.
I’m obsessed with the idea of positivity reframing and I’ve been advocating for it on social media for some time now. Basically, you take your present situation, reflect on the good that can come out of it and change your outlook to a more optimistic one.
According to VeryWell Mind, positivity reframing allows you to change the way you view a situation and in turn, behavior and thinking will follow suit. The site evoked the analogy of a camera lens: as you adjust the lens, you view and experience the picture in focus differently.
The very first morning of my summer internship in 2019, I found myself lost in a convoluted maze at my company’s corporate headquarters. I wandered aimlessly through four incorrect buildings, received directions from seven people and even had a map in front of me.
Talk about a train wreck!
Directions have never been my strong suit and panicking seemed like a likely thing to do, but instead, I reframed and reminded myself I was fortunate to even have an internship and would find my workspace eventually.
When I finally reached my destination – which felt like the year 2030 – I apologized to my manager profusely. I made a joke about how one time I was an hour late on the first day of another job after getting a flat tire — so only 30 minutes late wasn’t bad for me. We both laughed and moved forward. Using a positive mindset instead of a stressed mentality served me tremendously and helped diffuse my mistake.
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I know what you’re thinking right now; it’s hard to find the good when a mysterious, invisible virus threatens our world and takes innocent lives; upcoming plans have all dissolved right before our eyes and our day-to-day remains so uncertain and irregular.
But, believe me darlings, the good is still here. It’s not going anywhere anytime soon, either. We just have to look for it.
There are so many amazing things we can be doing right now. First, we can feel a sense of gratitude for our health, our loved ones and the beauty of life.
It may not be what we envisioned this time period to look like, but now is the perfect time to do all those things that we always tell ourselves “we’ll get to someday.”
Today is that someday.
Use this period to re-organize your space, learn something new, read that book you’ve been putting off, start a journal, clean out your camera roll (you know you need to) or try a new at-home exercise routine. Or, follow the lead of literally every celebrity I follow on Instagram and go Live.
Use reframing to banish thoughts about how coronavirus is disrupting our daily lives and routine. Actually, it’s teaching us to be more resilient and come up with creative ways to problem solve for new daily challenges—like adjusting to online classes—which has been an interesting adventure to say the least.
You should be proud of yourself for your ability to adapt under pressure!
So, before you upload your next Tweet, Snapchat and Instagram post or story wanting to criticize the virus and its effect on your life, stop. Be mindful about all the good in your life: the people, your health, your favorite shops and restaurants.
Remember, ships don’t sink because of the water that surrounds them, they sink because of the water that gets inside them. Don’t let the negativity of the virus cause you to sink.
To channel my queen and role model in life, Dolly Parton, if you want the rainbow, you’ve got to put up with the rain. Be safe, stay home, look for the positives and keep being your fabulous self.
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