Although we are still amidst the pandemic, with vaccination and all other sorts of treatments in place, many people look forward to their life after COVID-19. In this post I am going to share some tips with you on how to have a smooth transition at this stage of your life. While COVID-19 pandemic was unexpected and devastating, it taught us great lessons about ourselves, our relationships, and the community we live in. So before planning for the future, it is critically important to evaluate your life from the beginning of the pandemic and record the lessons that you learned.
Start by accepting the past
I know it is really difficult with all the isolation and losses that you may have experienced, but without accepting the past, you can not move forward. We are tempted to turn away from bad experiences and put them in the rear view, however, residues of the past are always with us. Remember that the pain of trying to ignore your bad experiences is bigger than the pain that comes from accepting them and being your whole self. Therefore the key to be at peace and move forward in the best way, is to accept the past. Journaling can be extremely helpful in both gathering your thoughts and accepting the experiences you had during the pandemic.
Re-evaluate your life
As you journal, think about these questions:
- What aspects of your life have changed during the pandemic in positive and negative ways?
- Are there any new activities such mindfulness, self-compassion, reading, etc. that you have started during the pandemic?
- What self-care practices do you want to continue?
How about your relationships? Who are the people that were really supporting you during this time? Is there anyone that you keep your relationship limited with?
Despite all the difficulties COVID-19 caused in our relationships, it gave us a chance to re-evaluate our relationships and whom we spend our time with.
See both challenges and opportunities
It is important to pay attention to not only pains, but also the possibilities. Focus on new skills that you developed or activities that you tried. Maybe you discovered new things that you are good at. Maybe you invested in yourself or your intimate relationships or maybe you spent more time with your kids. You certainly found new inner resources within yourself. Take some time and remember them.
Take action
After you wrote what was in your mind, pause for a few minutes, accept yourself as who you are with all the positive and negative experiences you had, and find your most important values. As the next step, you need to list actions that are in accordance with these values. While you are listing your actions, make sure to list actions that you take in the short-term like within a week, or a month as well as long term actions.
Mind the relapse
One of the biggest concerns that people have while making a new change or new transition in life is how to commit to their plans. In response, it is important to remember three key points.
- First, give yourself enough time when it is possible to have a smooth transition. Big changes may not last long and if they last they cause a lot of stress and disturbance in your life system. For example, if you plan to get back to an in-person working environment, arrange to do it in different phases and as slowly as possible.
- Second, focus on the process rather than the outcome. And celebrate small achievements every day. So you are most probably repeating them again and again.
- Finally, give yourself permission to make occasional errors and still be able to get back to the track. If you focus on the process and bring your awareness to your work, you will be able to catch yourself early if relapse occurs.
To conclude
Loss has been a common theme in the pandemic and many of us faced it in different forms from loss of job and relationships, to death of loved ones. You may have started planning for your life after the pandemic. To have a more smooth transition, it is important to accept those experiences. Trying to ignore and forget your losses will diminish you and your life.
Write down your takeaways over the course of pandemic. What are you going to learn from this past year?
Write down a few actions that you will take during the next day, week, month and year toward your core values. To help you recover from possible relapses, remind yourself that commitment is about your process and to come back if you make a mistake.
As always, if you want to know more about this topic, or need additional support you can flip us an email or book an appointment, here.