I’ve scored another March in my life full of uncertainty. It’s been 21 years since NATO started bombing my country. My plans, my work, my travels, my life, everything stopped in a day. I couldn’t help but recall that time a week ago when I started getting emails about canceled meetings, events, workshops, and appointments for the next few months. This time, it was about surviving COVID-19. One more time, I experienced a feeling of not being able to control things and being at the mercy of an invisible enemy. At first, I was overwhelmed with distress and felt helpless. However, this time, I regrouped much faster as I was geared with the undesired experience from the past. I knew what it takes to preserve your health, job, and family during the COVID-19 crisis.
Today, I wanted to share with you how surviving the bombing helped me survive COVID-19. Without being redundant about things already said on social networks and elsewhere, I hope these tips help you cope better in the near future. And trust me, there are many similarities between what I went through and what the world is going through now. I am not getting into details because the last thing I want is to sound pathetic, so you have to believe me.
Life is going on, with or without us. Do not think that there is anything more important than the safety of your family and you. It is OK to not respond to every single email immediately, it is OK to put some less important projects on the back burner, and it is certainly time to stop chasing perfection. We need to give each other some space for mistakes and be more tolerant and patient to preserve what we have to start off healthy and fresh when things return to normal.
Therefore, to avoid struggling while surviving COVID-19, lower your expectations. It is hard to believe that I am the one writing this down, but it is true. New conditions require setting new goals. And those conditions will keep changing as we are all new in this, and we do not have a framework for each and every situation. Now is the time to check your flexibility, so be flexible, check, and adjust your goals more often.
More than anything – be patient and take things one day or week at a time. Nobody can tell for sure how long this situation is going to last and how bad it will affect each of us and society as a whole. The chances are it will take a few months or more. Do yourself a favor and be realistic rather than optimistic. Do not set the “end dates” in your head, as you may get disappointed over and over again. Because it is not up to you. You have no power to change things now. But we will all need a lot of energy to revive businesses and invigorate the economy when the time comes. In that, you should believe and be optimistic.
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