Tips to Thrive and Survive Through Lockdown
Humans are creatures of habit, and we tend perform most productively when we have a regular routine in place. This goes for our health and fitness habits, our work schedules, and the day-to-day grind.
If your normal routine or certain aspects of your life have been disrupted due to the Covid-19 lockdowns of late, it’s completely normal to be feeling unmotivated or like you’re in a state of limbo.
In such unpredictable times, it’s more important than ever to prioritise your mental and physical health before anything else.
Mindset Coach and neuroscientist Alexis Fernandez shares her top tips to help you thrive and survive through lockdown, as she currently experiences it herself in Sydney, Australia.
"Lockdowns are not easy, even for the happiest of people. However there is always something that can be done to make a bad situation better, or to create an opportunity out of something, even when it doesn’t seem possible at first glance".
The first thing that you need to do to adapt to your upcoming time in lockdown is to surrender.
You need to accept your situation, not fight it
"When I come across a challenge I always first ask myself, “do I have the power to change this?” If the answer is no, like in the case of a lockdown, then I tell myself I need to accept, and discover what, if anything, I can do about this new situation.
I encourage you to do the same when you know you’re not in control of change. You need to make a decision to accept what’s happening for what it is, and not resist it.
Not resisting doesn’t mean you can't talk about it, or it doesn’t mean you can’t be upset or find it difficult. But it means moving from a place of disbelief and suffering to one of acceptance, and pro-activity.
If you spend time resisting what is, then you miss out on time for other things. The longer you focus on what isn’t happening and dwelling over what you’re missing, the easier it is for your mind to keep you in that sad or dark place".
So you have accepted what is, now what?
Realise that this is a time for big growth, and forced growth too. At times like this we start becoming really aware of what we want and what we don’t want in life.
A lot of the time we go through life being so busy that we never get a chance to ask ourselves “Is this what I truly want? Do I want to be doing this in 10 years? Am I happy with the things I can control? If I had the chance would I change anything?”.
Because we are so busy and never leave space to be alone with our thoughts, often these important questions go unanswered.
It's time to pause, think and reflect
If you’re in lockdown, you might finally have the opportunity to be alone with your thoughts (which can be daunting for many). This is where we can start to tap into our intuition and discover so much that isn’t working for us, and this discomfort can now be useful.
Look at this time as hitting the reset button for yourself. It may seem boring or painful, but it gives you much needed space. Those who are most resistant to this and don’t want space to be alone are normally the ones that need it most.
Reconnecting with your inner self and pausing is key for happiness and self love. So lockdown is actually a really great place to start this journey.
What else can you do?
Now to begin working on yourself, I want you to write a BASIC list of things to do for each day you are in lockdown so that you go to bed each night with a sense of accomplishment.
You will be amazed at how great and uplifted you will feel knowing you have ticked everything off your list.
It can be as simple as:
- Drink 3 litres of water
- Move my body
- Read for 30 minutes
- Call a friend
- Mediate
- Learn something new for 1 hour
Keep it achievable, and try to complete the list for as many consecutive days as possible, so that once the lockdown is over these things have become a habitual way of being and you can carry this into the rest of the year.
While you’re in lockdown, challenge yourself to try something brand new and commit to doing it every day. This could be a new project or skill you’ve been wanting to learn, like a new language, an instrument or holding a handstand.
Dedicate a set block of time to work towards it each day. When you break it down into achievable daily steps, you’ll be surprised how much progress you can make in just a short amount of time.
Setting yourself a challenge or goal like this will help you get into a proactive growth mindset, rather than just sitting there, hopelessly waiting for your situation to change.
Most importantly, stay connected, and stay active".
If you’re still feeling lost when it comes to building a productive routine and staying on track during lockdown, we’ve got you.
We’ve loaded the MWU App with a home workout option for every single session, as well as exercise swap options for effective low and no-equipment workouts.
No matter what Program you're doing, you'll also have access to Live Workouts from 5 trainers, including a variety of home sessions and pilates sessions with Alexis that you can stream directly to your TV.
Each morning, the MWU App will remind you to set your daily goals, plan out tasks to achieve for the day ahead, and remind yourself of the things to be grateful for.
We also help you stay accountable to hitting healthy habits each day with a hydration, sleep and step tracker.
Our Team of nutrition, training and mindset professionals are here to support you through every step and provide you with the best education and tools to help you achieve your goals. We’re always just an email away if you want to chat info@movewithus.com.
