MAKE YOUR LIFE MORE INTERESTING BEYOND DINNER & GOING TO MOVIES!
#1. EXPLORE NEW POSSIBILITIES
The most important thing you can do is open yourself up to new possibilities. You need to have more courage to experiment & expand your world. Start by exploring more in the safety of being online, then expand with google searching within your own city & nearby. Explore new ideas on TED TALKS. Try some free online courses or explore virtual tours of museums & art.
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- https://artsandculture.withgoogle.com/en-us/national-parks-service/welcome (Go on a tour with a Park Ranger)
- https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/19-immersive-museum-exhibits-you-can-visit-from-your-couch
- http://catacombes.paris.fr/en/virtual-visit
- https://www.classcentral.com/collection/ivy-league-moocs (450 free IVY LEAGUE CLASSES)
- http://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/take-virtual-tours-these-stunning-libraries
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/travel/2020/03/18/these-historic-sites-attractions-are-offering-virtual-tours-during-coronavirus-pandemic/
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ten-museums-you-can-virtually-visit-180974443/
- https://www.metmuseum.org/art/online-features/met-360-project
- https://www.moma.org/research-and-learning/classes (8 free courses on Art)
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49YeFsx1rIw (5hour 19minute tour of the Russian HERMITAGE MUSEUM)
- https://www.coursera.org/learn/the-science-of-well-being? (Free course; the most popular class ever taught in Yale University’s 317-year history)
- https://images.nasa.gov (Free images from space)
- https://www.broadwayhd.com (Free for 7 days; then $8.99 a month)
- https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours (From Around The World)
- https://artsandculture.google.com/project/street-view MORE MUSEUMS FROM THE WORLD)
- https://streetart.withgoogle.com/en/audio-tours (Street Art)
- https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/vr/ (Virtual Dives)
- https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/75809/12-world-class-museums-you-can-visit-online
- https://www.metopera.org/about/press-releases/met-launches-nightly-met-opera-streams-a-free-series-of-encore-live-in-hd-presentations-streamed-on-the-company-website-during-the-coronavirus-closure/
- https://www.timeout.com/london/things-to-do/london-events-you-can-stream-online-now
- https://chatterpack.net/blogs/blog/list-of-online-resources-for-anyone-who-is- isolated-at home (HUGE TERRIFIC LIST)
#2. LEARN TO TAME YOUR FEARS
This would be a great goal to achieve during a pandemic & would be really helpful in the future. So my first goal to manage anxiety instead of it managing you would be to pick a technique from this next list to practice every day. The more serious you are about practice the more in charge of your fears you will be.
Do you spend too long over analyzing all your worries? It could be that obsessing is pretending you can figure it out & then you will feel more in control. So decide to use at least 2 or 3 of these suggestions. On a separate note: Studies have shown Journaling also helps with self confidence & even better sleep. Also try using the website: virusanxiety.com
You also can embrace the rubber band technique; wearing one on your wrist, snapping it to interrupt the obsessiveness. Obsessiveness is pretending you are making yourself safe or accomplishing something with over thinking. So you want to interrupt your spinning, whirling thoughts by snapping the rubber band & shifting your focus.
#3. DECIDE FLEXIBILITY REALLY MATTERS
Adaptability is a skill that can benefit you for an entire lifetime. This is a chance to practice adaptability. In my podcaster group on facebook someone talked about always interviewing in person & now she was upset that while the quarantine is in place she couldn’t do that. I thought “OMG, flexibility is entirely a positive in life.” Rigidity is not a sign of mental well being. Learning to roll with the punches and landing on your feet is a big deal.
#4. GRATITUDE MAKES A DIFFERENCE
All the research is clear that having gratitude makes you happier in life. One of my clients came up with the idea of people posting something good that has come from dealing with the virus. Everyone has found it helpful & of course, not everyone wants to post every day. I would post that I’ve finally slowed down & have more time for gardening, someone else might post they came home to a cooked meal etc. Out of the darkness comes the light. The yin & yang are ever present even when it may not feel that way.
#5. CONSIDER RESILIENCE TO BALANCE YOUR FEAR OF UNCERTAINTY: