We are living an unprecedented experience and the Covid-19 pandemic has made us all change the way we live our lives, do our jobs, and interact with one another significantly.
People are having to work from home, parents are having to homeschool as they still have to keep up with work and house duties, couples are spending all day every day together… which is cute and all for the first few months of a relationship, not after you’ve been together for 10+ years (JK… kinda! LOL)
As someone who loves making plans and knowing ‘’what is next’’, this uncertainty can sometimes leave me on edge… but, I have realized that we MUST look at this experience differently, and try to focus on the things under our control.
We all know COVID19 is something that’s completely out of our control (aside from practicing social distancing and quarantining yourself if you’ve felt ill the past few days), and it’s affecting everyone around the globe. That is scary AF!
But the reality is, it’s also completely out of our control. We’re staying home, quarantining and socially isolating, but we can’t control the situation around us. So much is out of our control right now, and that creates a lot of stress in our lives and in our homes, and In order to reduce a bit of that stress and anxiety, I’m sharing with you tips on what has been working for me, and for the ladies in my community…
And, the best of it is that all these tips only need YOU in order to work!
Here are 5 things that you CAN control during the Covid-19 outbreak
I’ve got a video sharing the 5 Things in Your Control Right Now but you can also scroll and read the summary. I hope this helps you and your family during this time!
5 Things You Can Control Right NOW
1. Your thoughts and your feelings
Of course, everything feels overwhelming and we don’t have a solution right now. So, the first thing I want to remind you that you do have control over is one of the most powerful things in our lives and not only during times of uncertainty.
You CAN have control over your thoughts and feelings! This does not mean that you are not allowed to have feelings and that you’re not allowed to feel freaked out… but, acknowledge the feelings and thoughts, cry if you need to, and move on, staying in the present moment.
Ruminating your thoughts and feelings will give you a solution to the problem. It will only make you feel more stressed and anxious about what is going on.
Remember, don’t let these thoughts and feelings dictate how we are living our lives. During this time I would challenge you to reframe your thoughts and feelings so that you have control over them. Here’s an example that is very relevant to how many of us are feeling right now.
You might have a lot of negative thoughts about being ‘stuck’ at home. If you enjoy getting out during the days then feeling ‘stuck’ can lead you to being very negative. You should instead work every day on reframing that feeling of being ‘stuck’ into a feeling of gratitude to spend more time at home with your husband and kids as well as a challenge to maybe work on your business, fitness or that little back burner project you have been putting off for some time.
2. Your Attitude
We’ve all heard the following quote or one of its variations:
“Change your attitude and it will change your life”
I really believe you can control your attitude and your outlook on life.
What if we reframed our attitude from this negative:
“Ugh I can’t stand training from home” or “Ugh, I hate being locked in the house”
To a more positive and grateful outlook like:
“I prefer training in a gym, but I think this is a great opportunity to challenge myself with things that are different from my norm.” Or “I am grateful to have a roof above my head and people I love around me during this challenging time.”
This week I spoke with one of my clients who was having a really hard time doing the home workouts. She’s never trained from home, she’s just always been a gym go-er and believe me… I can relate to that! But I told my client just to try the home workouts and let me know how it goes.
Well… she did that first home work out and she hated it! She did not have a good time. But I realized that she was looking at these home workouts with this really negative attitude… and the reality is…
When do you ever have a good time doing something when you approach with negativity??
Having a negative attitude won’t fix the problem, so let’s make the best out of the circumstances and maybe learn something new about ourselves.
3. Avoiding toxic people and toxic things
“Some people are like clouds, when they disappear it’s a beautiful day”, and this couldn’t be more true in times of stress and uncertainty like now.
I personally, have done a social media cleanse and I have literally only kept people who post funny memes, cat videos or have something useful to add to my life.
And this is something I take a lot of pride in our Mother Strong League community from. Toxic people can become cancer in a community. The amount of positive energy, useful advice and support our group is providing for its members is absolutely unreal. From Disney princess gifs, to offering a shoulder to cry on during this overwhelming time… our community has been a safe place for members to be positive and fit
Now is definitely the time to start cutting the toxic people out of our lives.
I also would suggest limiting how much time you spend consuming the news, online articles and social media debates. I’m not suggesting that we stop watching the news altogether (because it is important to stay up to date with what’s happening) but it is a time that we should be limiting how much we are consuming.
4. Exercise!
You had to know this one was coming 😉
One thing I’ve noticed happening a lot is people saying, “I don’t workout at home, so I guess I’m not working out at all.”
Exercise goes wayyyy beyond our physical appearance. Exercising improves your mental health, your mood and of course your energy levels. As Elle Woods put it “Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. And happy people don’t kill their husbands. They just don’t.”
I was speaking to a psychotherapist during an interview for the Mother Strong League last week and she was telling me that one of the best things people can do right now for their mental health and to relieve anxiety is exercise. Which is why I believe that this is one of the most important things that we can control right now.
Don’t move backward right now! Keeping moving forward with your fitness goals. That’s something you control in your life right now.
This point is especially important as we are now trying to do all the things: work, homeschool, keep the house clean, keep everyone fed, entertain the kids….
It is easy to neglect ourselves and look at training as not a necessity… but, now IS the time you should be focusing on yourself so you can give your best to all the other people and things that NEED you. A 60 minutes workout is less than 3% of your whole day… I am sure YOU deserve to give yourself 3% of YOU!
Remember, you can’t pour from an empty cup, and now more than ever you need to be your best so you can give your best.
5. How much you eat
Empty shelves are stressing people out around the world. Remember (unless you’re a stockpiler…) we’re all in the same boat. There are ways that you can maximize the cards you’ve been dealt right now. So you might not have control over what your local grocery stores have in stock right now… so you can’t control what you’re eating. But instead, you can control how much you are eating.
You might not have all the options you’re used to… but you can control how much you’re eating. I recommend getting My Fitness Pal and tracking and watching how much you are eating. If you want to learn more about calorie deficit and fat loss, read this blog I wrote.
And there you have it! Those are the 5 things that you can have control over right now, while everything else in the world is so out of our control. Remember to take a deep breath, take control of your thoughts, emotions and how they’re affecting your attitude and choose to connect with a positive community of like-minded ladies! If you’re looking for a community like that, come join our Facebook Group, Fit Moms and Healthy Bumps. You’ll have the chance to connect and be lifted up by women around the world. Not to mention the chance to connect with women going through the same thing you are right now! Come join us!
Before you go, if you’re looking for a nutrition and exercise plan that’s designed specifically for you with LOADS of HOME workouts included… then check out the Mother Strong League. I’m currently offering 60% off my signature program during this prelaunch because I don’t want money to be the reason you’re not getting fit and strong right now! Click here to learn more and join the program.
We hope this post has inspired you and reminded you that you’re not alone. We’d love it if you’d share this post to Pinterest to inspired others as well.
