There’s no use in denying the fact that most of the world is currently under some sort of stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19. However, today I’d like to address the elephant in the room when it comes to making it through this quarantine and that is the belief that we should be making the most of this time at home and achieving success during COVID-19.
I’m not a fan of social media. Sure, I have an account on all the major networks for business. But I absolutely hate the way it sucks all the self-esteem, energy, and confidence right out of you. Today, I’m referring specifically to one message I’ve been seeing over and over across all the networks I’m active on. Have you seen it? It says something along the lines of:
If you don’t come out of this quarantine with either:
1.) a new skill
2.) starting what you’ve been putting off like a new business
3.) more knowledge
You didn’t ever lack the time, you lacked the discipline
Ugh, I hate it! COVID-19 is not a staycation. It’s not a sabbatical either. It is a global medical and economic emergency. You may have loved ones that have gotten sick, you may have lost your job, or had your hours reduced. You may have had important life events derailed and severely affected by the current situation. Your child’s graduation ceremony may have been canceled. I have someone close to me who will be giving birth alone due to visitor restrictions in the hospitals. My new husband and I got married overseas and without our loved ones present due to the travel bans.
It’s a scary time.
Some people will try to make you feel bad if you are not completely reinventing yourself during this time. Ignore them. Instead, I hope you’ll take my advice today and choose to be gracious instead.
First off, be gracious with yourself.
- With all the kids in the house, it will likely be harder (or impossible) to keep it as clean as you usually have it. That is OK.
- If you find yourself having to take the role of TEACHER, don’t expect to be perfect. You didn’t sign up to be a teacher. Or a homeschool teacher either. It’s ok if you and your child need a day off. Mental health is still health.
- You may be having some serious feelings of isolation and perhaps even anxiety and depression. And if you are, I hope you don’t feel like you should be focusing on self-development. Sometimes the best we can do is stay afloat. If you find yourself struggling with self-care or even with getting out of bed, forget about learning a new language! Take care of yourself and your family first.
Be gracious with your child.
- They may not have a job or bills to worry about, but don’t think for a minute that your child isn’t just as stressed and scared in this pandemic as you are. Their routines are gone. Their friends may be gone. Their extracurricular activities are gone. They are suffering in their own way, and expressing that suffering in the only ways they know how. So if your child is suddenly regressing, acting out, or behaving in a way that is incompatible with how they used to behave, I hope you will be generous and gracious with them as well.
TL;DR
So there you have it. This has been my first blog post since the outbreak, and my very first podcast episode on The Learning Corner. And you know what, I find it an incredibly appropriate start. Because after all, learning is not always about textbooks and tests. Sometimes you need to take a step back and take care of your mental health and mental state to set up good foundations before worrying about math and reading.
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