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How to Use a Plan When The Plan Changes

CATEGORY: NewsTAGGED WITH: counselors, Covid19, manageable, parents, plan, schedule, small changes stick, studentsGenevieve GriffinApril 2, 2020

Our original blog post for this month was about how to use a plan. However, because of the Coronavirus pandemic, we decided to focus on how to use a plan when the plan changes,

If you want to make changes that will last it is best to make small changes because they will stick. And, it’s easier to stick to a plan with small changes when your big picture morphs into something entirely unexpected.

People are reacting in a wide range of ways from following the directives of stay home, wash hands, don’t touch your face, to going out and just pretending life is normal, to not getting out of bed.

An important life skill is learning to roll with changes but this is way past that. Yet, those same small steps apply.

It’s important to

  • Be aware of your reality
  • Stick to a schedule
  • Now more than ever, take care of yourself
  • And, it requires not getting paralyzed by inaction
  • Break down the larger challenges into manageable small steps

Like it or not, the fabric of our daily life is different. School and work has been moved online, perhaps making us feel like our lives are a tv show in a bizarre way. Simple pleasures and annoyances, like giving someone a high five or feeling crowded on a bus or in a lecture, are forbidden as we all try to lessen the danger of this pandemic. There’s no sports, hanging out, committee meetings, or even waiting in a line at the DMV.

The fabric of our life is different but it’s still there.  This is not a vacation so get up at your regular time, make your bed, brush your teeth, have breakfast, and get dressed for your day. School and work continue to happen–put the times on a piece of paper, planner, or desk calendar and show up ready to do what needs to be done.

Eating well, getting enough sleep, and exercising is advice we’ve all heard and now it’s just not advice, it’s essential.

If having enough food is challenging, reach out by contacting an organization like https://www.feedingamerica.org/need-help-find-food

Keeping yourself healthy means taking good care of your body and your attitude. Try something like a free meditation: https://chopracentermeditation.com/experience

And, staying at home, washing your hands whenever you touch anything that has been touched by any other person, and not touching your face.

Again, get up, make your bed and show up. The Coronavirus makes us feel powerless but the fact is we are not powerless when it comes to ourselves. It matters that we see our own reality, we’re taking good care of ourselves, and we are showing up as much as possible.

Many important events in our lives have been disrupted, and will continue to be disrupted until we get to the place where we can begin to see the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel.  This is making us feel afraid, anxious, angry, and sad–and that is normal. Trying to imagine, now, how those important events, like graduation, exams, weddings, projects, birthdays, family trips, etc., can and will happen is not realistic. But, thinking and talking about what you can do right now in your life is an active step you can take.  Don’t put the plans away, just move them out of your inbox for today.

There is always a silver lining, and you are in control of where you find it.

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