How to make lemonade out of self-isolation?
Even in the worst of all possible circumstances we choose our response, maybe not the initial reaction depending upon your personal awareness but certainly our second reaction or thought. It is in that reaction that you discover your character and it does not always make for happy reading. I have had my fill of poor reactions, actions and thoughts, once you make the decision to live your life rather than sitting on the side lines commentating on the actions of others and never playing the game yourself, it is inevitable that you are going to make mistakes. More than that it is part of the process of learning to becoming a better person, failing is learning and you have to be bad at something before you become good.
You might not ask for the circumstances of your life, it might be your preference not to have drama in your life, however life is consistently relentless in ignoring your wishes and likes to give you problems just in case you are bored. However a problem that not many people were ready for was self-isolation, whilst a few people have been looking forward to a zombie apocalypse with what can only be described as glee, even they
might be disappointed with mere isolation rather than a fight to the death. Suddenly being faced with only your own company might seem like the worst of all possible fate, but do not worry you might even like yourself a little better by the end of it, and it is worth remembering people pay an awful amount of money to go on two week retreat precisely to get away from everything and everyone because they think it is going to be good for them.
And that might be the first step in actually enjoying or getting something out of the experience, and it is an unique opportunity which will hopefully not happen again in our lifetimes, you get to be in your own company without it being a weird or strange thing, you have not got to be a yoga or meditation person, you do not have to tell or justify it to anyone, you just get to be on your own without excuses or reason. You just have to accept it, which is the first of the triple stoic A of acceptance, awareness and action, by accepting it, you get to move past regret at what you could be doing, you do not have to miss anything, instead you can just get on this enjoying this odd and unique moment.
You can bring your awareness of what is possible during this time, you can do exactly as you please, want to get up at six in the morning that is fine, eat breakfast for dinner all good, play drums in your pyjamas go for your life. You can spend time on that hobby that you never get around to, meditate, watch a triple bill of movies, read a favourite novel or tackle the big one that defeated you before, write, sing to the moon, you have a freedom that you nay never have again take full advantage of it, do something you have never had before. Awareness brings us to action so easily, once we become awareness that something is an opportunity instead of a sacrifice we bring an abundance mindset to our life situation instead of the fearful scarcity thinking that generates negative feelings and inaction.
Even sacrifice when it is chosen is not in itself a bad thing, giving up something for a better position is the most human of decisions, it is being able to imagine a better and good life that makes us so remarkable, to make a dream reality is our true magic. When a sacrifice is forced upon us, it can make us anger or frustrated, but who do you get to be anger at when it is the size of a virus, it does not care about you or anything, it just repeats and spread, the only one who is left is you, and why get annoy and anger at yourself. And yet that is the choice many people will make over the coming weeks and months, and in an atmosphere of fear, you can choose to echo that fear, but that is a choice, there is so many better ways to embrace this free time, and if these were the last weeks of your life, what would you want to do with them.
And once you have the awareness that you are making a choice, it is up to you to make the adult choices, to take full responsibility for the decisions in your life and not just the direction of your life but how you spend each individual moment of your life. If you have two weeks of enforced solitude, you can get high, have fun or you can face yourself, your own company, you can decide if you like yourself, your own company, if you do, you can grow more in two weeks than you have in two years, decades. Being at ease in your own company is the single strongest action you can take, as how can anyone else like being round you if you do not, learn the skill of being content doing things without company, then when you have company you will enjoy it even more and in a different way.
That is just one of the opportunities that you have before you, however action is the most important part if you are not going to waste it, two weeks to yourself is a gift that for some is a once in your lifetime chance. If you are able to bring as much as awareness into that situation you will get so much more out of it, and you never be able to if you do not accept that it is up to you to make lemonade out of your self-isolation, or any situation that you happen to find yourself in.
