10 Easy Things You Can Do to Make Your Life Better During Self-Isolation

10 Easy Things You Can Do to Make Your Life Better During Self-Isolation

This COVID-19 crisis has radically changed our lives. Just a few months ago, we had no idea our ‘world’ would be confined to our homes!

This crisis is a powerful reminder of how important freedom is – and how much we need human connection!

Remember you are not alone. Because what is DIFFERENT here is that everyone is impacted! Your neighbour, mom, boss, and friends as well as your counterparts around the world are all going through something similar.

So, it’s important to remember:

Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way. Viktor E. Frankl

This is the challenge each of us must rise to! If we’re going to be stuck at home, we may as well make the most of it.

Here Are 10 Things You Can do to Make Your Life Better while Physically Isolated:

1) Create a Healthy, Supportive Routine

When we feel powerless or helpless (as so many of us do at the moment), one EXTREMELY easy thing to do is to create a routine or schedule.

While we’re all stuck in anxiously waiting at home, it’s easy to lose our sense of time. Days can begin to blend into each other. A routine can give us an anchor and a greater sense of control over our lives. And if you have children, creating a routine is especially important to give them a sense of normality.

This routine or schedule can be as simple as:

  • 7am – Wake-up
  • 8am – Breakfast
  • 10am – Exercise
  • 11am – Talk to friends
  • 12.00pm – Lunch
  • 1-4pm – Learning or a home project
  • 5pm – Make & Eat Dinner
  • 7pm – Talk to close family
  • 8pm – Reading, Journaling
  • 10pm – Bed

Be sure to include food preparation, social time, exercise and outdoor time and some learning or creativity so you get some benefit from this challenging time.

It’s also important to recognize weekends because it’s too easy for weeks to blur together. So, make a looser schedule for your weekends. For example, you could include:

  • Sleeping in/later bedtime
  • Brunch
  • “Treats”
  • Family Album time with family members
  • Prayer Time
  • Movie night with popcorn
  • A virtual happy hour with friends or colleagues
  • A larger project, perhaps some art, craft, gardening or home redecoration.

So, create a routine for a sense of control and mastery over your environment and life circumstances. Reclaim what power you can over your own life, because with all this uncertainty it’s important for you – and especially important for children – to have predictability.

2) Build Your Physical Strength, Fitness Levels, or Flexibility!

Building your physical strength is powerful and health-boosting! Not only is physical strength and flexibility life-affirming and good for our health, but feeling more physically powerful actually helps us feel more empowered and less helpless in life too!

So add some physical activity into your schedule – as little as 15 – 20 minutes daily. Maybe by the end of this you’ll be fitter or even be able to do 10 (or 100!) press-ups!

There are many options to boost your physical strength and health. Here are some ideas:

  • Take up a yoga practice – excellent for strength-building, flexibility – and calm! There are lots of online options. Here is one with everything from 10 minutes for beginners to advanced practice.
  • Learn to do a press-up or push-up. Then see if you can get to 10 (or more – depending on where you start)!
  • There are so many online fitness classes on Youtube – for beginners, experts – with equipment and also with no equipment whatsoever. PopSugar Fitness has many options to choose from. https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/ (Mindvalley Quest) is my favourite which helped me to move from 115 kgs to present 85 kgs.

REMEMBER: Being stronger = FEELING stronger and more in control! And building your PHYSICAL strength or fitness = REDUCED feelings of helplessness!

3) Learn with Non-Fiction Books:

Use this time at home to educate yourself with non-fiction books. There is so much to be gained – like self-confidence, negotiation skills, health (sleep, nutrition), how to have difficult conversations, and much more.

What keeps you up at night? There’s probably a book about that! What do you wish you were better at? There’s probably a book about that too!

Here are some book ideas to get you thinking:

  • Be more productive or creative with “The Now Habit” by Neil Fiore or “A Whack on the Side of the Head (How You Can Be More Creative)” by Roger Von Oech and “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel Pink.
  • Think (or rethink?) how you live with books like “The Omnivore’s Dilemma” by Michael Pollan (also available in a young reader’s version), “Slow Food: Collected Thoughts on Taste, Tradition, and the Honest Pleasures” by Carlo Petrini, “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America” by Barbara Ehrenreich, “Doughnut Economics” by Kate Raworth.
  • Get personally inspired by “Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts” and “The Gifts of Imperfection” by Brene Brown, or “Man’s Search for Meaning” by Viktor E. Frankl.
  • Up-skill yourself with “Difficult Conversations: How To Discuss What Matters Most” by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, Sheila Heen.
  • Learn about the human mind with “Blink” by Malcolm Gladwell or “The Whole-Brain Child” by Daniel J. Siegel MD and Tina Payne Bryson, Ph.D.
  • Get healthier with “Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams” by Matthew Walker PhD.
  • Be more confident and discover your strengths with “The Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance – What Women Should Know” by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman” or “Now, Discover Your Strengths (How to Develop Your Talents and Those of the People You Manage)” by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton.
  • Finally, read a memoir! Choose someone you admire, get inspired, and learn how other people think – and live their lives.

Reading one book will expand your mind, reading several of these books is going to make you more interesting, help you learn new skills – and maybe even make you more employable too!

4) Gain a New Skill with Online Learning:

There are so many opportunities online to gain a new skill and they’re growing by the day!

Grow your personal or creative skills or choose a new skill to learn and take back to work with online training providers like Coursera or Udemy.

There are many other providers.

If there’s a skill you always wanted to learn, search for it. But be sure to read the course descriptions thoroughly, check reviews if there are any – and check money-back guarantees as you need to!

And with so many learning options ranging from FREE to tens of dollars to the low hundreds of dollars, there will be something out there just perfect for you.

Inner Peace Life Coaching also offers a wide range of courses including

  1. Speed Reading
  2. How to Handle Social Anxiety
  3. How to Grow your Confidence
  4. Set Goals that will not fail
  5. Learn Simple NLP Techniques

You can shoot an email to find more about IPLC courses @ coach@innerpeacelife.com

5) Explore your Life Vision:

Rather than watching endless news streams, you can choose to focus on a bigger picture – your future. What do you want for the rest of your life? What would you be disappointed you did NOT do? Where do you envision yourself in 10 years?

Having a clear vision of how you want your life to be is a powerful motivator. A vision helps us work towards our goals, take action, and make a change. Soon, we’ll all be super-busy again – and a vision might be just what you need to stay focused!

Here are 5 questions to ponder or journal around to go deeper:

  • What do you desire or yearn for in your life?
  • How do you want to feel?
  • What do you really, really want to be different in your life?
  • What would have happened in 3 years’ time such that your life is spectacular and you feel magnificent about yourself?
  • What’s your dream for this lifetime? Imagine you’re 90 years old and looking back over your life; what did you do that made you proud and happy?

TIP: Remember to think possibility not probability! Don’t limit yourself and your ideas because you don’t believe something is likely. Instead believe it’s possible – and even if you don’t get all the way there, you may get close – or even find something better along the way!

And if you’d like some help with creating a vision for your life, I’m offering a free Life Visioning Session here. Just click the below link and book your free session.

https://my.timetrade.com/book/LNX16

6) Be in the moment:

In THIS moment you are OK. You are safe. Take one day at a time. One hour or even one breath at a time if you need to.

This tip is about being super-present, not thinking ahead or remembering the past, but practicing BEING.

This is a PRACTICE – meaning you will have to do it over and over again – bringing yourself back to the NOW. Over time it gets easier, and it’s a great skill to have to take back to “normal” life.

So when you notice you’re worrying, feeling twitchy and want to pick up your device and find out what the “latest” is about the COVID situation, say to yourself, “It’s OK. In this moment, I am safe. In this moment I am OK.”  You can also add or say, “In this moment, my children/husband/family are safe.”

EXTRA TIP: Reduce or minimize how often you watch and read the news! And DON’T read or watch the news (or articles about COVID-19 or similar) just before bed!

7) Start a Journal!

If you’ve always wanted to journal, now is a good time to start. More than just keeping a record of your day, a journal can help you explore and sift through your feelings and experiences and learn from them. It’s a great way to get to know you.

It’s great to choose a beautiful notebook, but the most important thing is to just get started. Here are some prompts to get started with:

  • Today I am feeling _________. I think this is because __________.
  • One big thing I have learned during this crisis is _________.
  • I remember the last time I was stuck in the house _________.
  • One thing that’s surprised me recently is _________.
  • What matters most to me in life is _________.
  • Describe your ideal day _________.

“A journal is expressive by nature and it contains feelings, emotions, problems, ponderings and it is more reflective on the meaning of life being lived.” Lynda Monk

8) Be Kind!

Kindness and compassion are some of the most powerful tools any of us have in our toolbox right now. Many of us are largely housebound, never mind the fear that you or a loved one might actually catch the COVID virus! So, of course we’re going to feel unpleasant and weird.

  • Use kindness to comfort yourself when afraid or feeling anxious or fidgety. Be gentle. Imagine you’re soothing a friend, small child, or animal who is afraid – what would you say to them? Then say that to yourself!
  • Use kindness to give yourself – and others – the benefit of the doubt. Instead of getting upset when you see other people behaving badly, remember that we all do silly things when we’re scared.
  • Imagine you have a kind, wise self. A part of you that is unflappable, intelligent, and unconditionally loves ALL of you. Now, when you need it, imagine that kind, the wise self is with you, supporting you, maybe giving you a hug – and saying exactly what you need to hear (not just the sugary stuff, but also the tough love and common sense).

9) Live Your Values

When we know your values, we understand what motivates and drives us. When we build our lives around our values, we create a life that is meaningful. Finally, when we align our actions with our values – we’re being truly authentic. It’s a very satisfying and fulfilling way to live.

And living your values could be the single most important thing any of us can do right now.

Here’s an exercise you can do:

  • List your values on a piece of paper or in your journal.
  • Give each value a score ___ / 10 as to how well you are living that value in your life now (where 0 is not at all and 10 is full-out).
  • For the scores that are 8 or more – great!
  • For the scores that are 7 or less out of 10, ask yourself, “How could I express this value more in my life right now?” “What could I do differently or approach differently, so that I feel good about how I live this value in my life?”

For example You have a value of creativity, but you’re only managing to ‘go through the motions’ right now and your score is 4/10. Ask yourself how you could be more creative during this time – whether it’s cooking, gardening, art or writing, or helping your kids do something creative, or even watching a documentary about someone creative you admire…

“If you don’t know your values, now is a great time to learn. I’m offering a free Values Review Session here. Just click the below link and book your free session”.

https://my.timetrade.com/book/LNX16

10) De-Clutter

I bet you have some organizational things on your to-do list (like going through winter clothes, sorting out toys to donate or tidying the laundry closet, garage, or shed) that have been on there for a while. Use this isolation period to get them done!

Getting organized and de-cluttering allows us to exert some control over our lives – and therefore feel less helpless! Plus it’ll feel amazing just to have it done.

Organize your closets, your garage, your books, your photos, office, kitchen equipment. Whatever needs organizing. Or perhaps you need to go through your receipts or file your taxes!

  • If you need some inspiration (and great clothes-folding tips) you could watch the Marie Kondo series on Netflix!

A simple 3 Step Method to go through your stuff:

  1. If you’re keeping it, be sure to DECIDE where it will “live” from now on.
  2. If you’re not keeping it, create two piles:
    • Things to DUMP
    • Things to DONATE (and if relevant to pass on to specific people).
  3. When you’re done, put each pile into bags or boxes, and then once this crisis is over you can get rid of what you no longer need.
  • TIP: You don’t need to do any of this ‘in one sitting’, do an hour a day – you’ll be surprised how much you get done if you keep it up for a week!

If you have cluttering of thoughts/ideas and you find your stressed out, as it fogging your thinking and you feel overwhelmed, I am offering you a special discounted session for just $25 to help you De-Clutter your mind in less than 30 minutes. If you are interested, Just Click the below link and book your free session”.

https://my.timetrade.com/book/LNX16

Wrap-up

So, which of the above ideas resonated with you?

Put me a note in the comments:-

“The areas I am focusing on are __________ add what you’re doing and why as an example.”

Believe you have the skills and power to tackle this situation and you will! Choose to make the best of a difficult situation and no matter what – you’ll find a way.

This current and strange COVID-19 situation will end. And when it does, you’ll be proud you made the effort to learn something – whether it’s about yourself, fresh knowledge, a new skill – and who knows what else!

Sajid Ahamed is a “Certified trainer of NLP” and Founder of Inner Peace Life Coaching Pvt Ltd, India. He organizes Grinder approved training in India and the Middle East. He is a firm believer in high performance. He enjoys engaging in powerful conversations that lead to effective learning and results. He conducts NLP Practitioner and New Code NLP Trainings in India and the Middle East. He is one of the few who are authorized by ITA (International Training Academy) to conduct New Code NLP Certifications in India and the Middle East. Being Certified in Energy Leadership Index Assessment by one of the largest ICF-accredited coach training schools in the world, “Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching” (iPEC). He is also certified and authorized to conduct Emotional intelligence Assessments by Six Seconds. Sajid empowers his clients to achieve their greatest potential and evolve into their personal best version through emotional intelligence coaching.

IPLC Team

Lessons from the Lockdown

Lessons from the Lockdown

At a time when we are thinking about Post COVID scenarios, it is essential to take a step back and a step higher to see the realities of our life from a new angle.   We choose a perspective that equips us with addressing the present challenge and turn it into an opportunity. In This Article, I will discuss, how people react to SEEs (Significant Emotional Events) or Traumas and pandemics situations, briefly evaluating the steps to ensure the best selection of choices in a given situation and avoid getting into traps of learned hopelessness.

Life has hit a pause button for a great majority of us. About a couple of months ago, we were all incredibly busy in the race to work, race to home, race to get projects done, race to do daily errands for work or home, race to get through the day comfortably. Almost everyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, and religion, is encouraged to stay at home and/or work from home. Adding to our stress is our quick and easy access to news from around the world.

If we reflect, we will realize that many things that we deemed a dire necessity in a pre-COVID world are not crucial to our existence. Now, we are living without them, some people are accepting the situation, and some are still struggling to accept it.

This situation, tragic and horrific as it is for the millions of people across the globe, can be used to re-evaluate our place in life. We are learning a new normal, and it’s not comfortable, but it’s our reality for the time being. This is our chance to rethink our lives and our choices.

Behavior scientists have been studying people’s responses to difficult situations for a long time. How people react to challenges in life can be summarized as below.

  1. Respond Negatively – People are distressed and cannot relax or carry out daily functions of life. As time passes, life becomes even more difficult and they find it hard or rather impossible to return to normalcy.
  2. See Saw Response – These are the people who initially are stressed out and find it hard to cope with what’s going on. However, their survival instincts take over and their brain starts experimenting and re-evaluating the options they have. They learn to choose better options to cope up with the challenges they are facing. These are the people who will eventually bounce back, and life will be normal again. With a little support from Coaches, this process can be expedited and given better directions.
  3. Resilient – These are people who might feel bad, but still manage to get good sleep, eat healthily, and move on without many hurdles. They quickly get back to high-level functioning in the new situation. This is the response we want to install it ourselves.

Here are some tips from NLP to build or enhance and maintain it.

Some of the NLP Pre-suppositions that can help you to become resilient:

  1. The map is not the territory.
    What you see is not actual, it’s only a reflection of how we see the situation from our filters of perception. There are a lot of options to view things differently.
  2. You have all the resources to cope with your situation. We have built-in solutions to our problems. Coaching is required to see different options, and it is blocked sometimes due to linear thinking styles.
  3. You are in charge of your mind, and your results. This presupposition puts you at CAUSE, and makes you an owner of your results, unlike EFFECT side responses which entails blaming everyone, everything including self for your problems

Research shows that there’s a striking difference between how people respond to stress. People who respond negatively to stress and those who are resilient is how they set their goals.

One of the techniques which I used recently with some of my clients is setting well-formed outcomes.

Step 1 – Focus on what you want, and not to focus on what you don’t want?

Step 2 – Ensure sensory-specific outcome. See, hear, and feel as if you have already achieved your outcome.

Step 3 – Check Ecology. What you are deciding to choose fits well in all areas and aspects of life? If not, how can you achieve it differently in a way that it is ecological to you?

Step 4 – When you achieve this, what would be different in your life?

Step 5 – What is that first step YOU need to take immediately, maybe in the next 24 hours?

Step 6 – From your previous experience of achieving your goals, what resources do you need now? If you haven’t had such experiences, observe successful people, what are the internal resources they have, which you can model.

These simple 6 steps, trigger your brain to develop the neurology required to be successful and create a resilient mindset.

A word of caution, as some may experience the NOCEBO effect, in response to all NLP interventions. Whatever you do, the response is negative and it blocks all attempts to change. In fact, this is also a choice in which the reptilian brain has preferred to address the challenge it perceived. The more you delve here, your emotional brain will be trained to always respond negatively. You have to get rid of these thought patterns either by yourself or with some assistance. This mindset promotes negativity and leads you into traps of Learned Hopelessness. Eventually, the pattern would trigger anxiety, panic, and depression.

Linear and unhelpful thinking patterns are natural outcomes of such a mindset.

  1. Judgments – Making evaluations or judgments about events, ourselves, others, or the world, rather than describing what we actually see and have evidence for
  2. Mind-Reading – Assuming we know what others are thinking (usually about us)
  3. Emotional Reasoning – I feel bad so it must be bad! I feel anxious, so I must be in danger.
  4. Prediction – Believing we know what’s going to happen in the future
  5. Mountains and Molehills – Exaggerating the risk of danger or the negatives. Minimizing the odds of how things are most likely to turn out, or minimizing positives.
  6. Compare and Despair – Seeing only the good and positive aspects in others, and comparing ourselves negatively against them
  7. Catastrophizing – Imagining and believing that the worst possible thing will happen
  8. Critical Self – Putting ourselves down, self-criticism, blaming ourselves for events or situations that are not (totally) our responsibility.
  9. Black and White Thinking – Believing that something or someone can be only good or bad, right or wrong, rather than anything in-between or ‘shades of grey.1
  10. Should and Must – Thinking or saying ‘I should’ (or shouldn’t) and ‘I must’ puts pressure on ourselves, and sets up unrealistic expectations

Once you notice these patterns, you must challenge or distance yourself from these thoughts, and see the situation in a different and more helpful way.

In case you find yourself engaging in unhelpful thoughts, you can contact your coach to assist you in creating an alternative thinking pattern.

Unlike dinosaurs, man is designed to survive. What supports this process is that we reorganize and reset our perception filter to suit the new conditions and move forward. We learn to adapt and adopt, necessary for survival, and become victorious.

For those, who find it difficult to make empowering decisions in life, with your present perceptions and filters, call us or email us and book a session with our internationally certified Practitioners and Coaches.

 

Sajid Ahamed is a “Certified trainer of NLP” and Founder of Inner Peace Life Coaching Pvt Ltd, India. He organizes Grinder approved trainings in India and Middle East. He is a firm believer in high performance. He enjoys engaging in powerful conversations that lead to effective learning and results. He conducts NLP Practitioner and New Code NLP Trainings in India and Middle East. He is one of the few who are authorized by ITA (International Training Academy) to conduct New Code NLP Certifications in India and Middle East. Being Certified in Energy Leadership Index Assessment by one of the largest ICF-accredited coach training schools in the world, “Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching” (iPEC). He is also a certified and authorized to conduct Emotional intelligence Assessments by Six Seconds. Sajid empowers his clients to achieve their greatest potential and evolve into their personal best version through emotional intelligence coaching.

 

IPLC Team