Developing Your Endurance and Resilience Through Covid-19
The global pandemic is testing our resilience. When we first realized the seriousness of Covid-19, we were told we needed to shutdown and isolate for 2 weeks to flatten the curve. We are now 8 months into these restrictions and are now experiencing our second set of shutdowns right before the holidays. It’s like signing up for a 5K and they keep moving the finish line so you’re now required to complete a 10K, then it’s a half marathon, a marathon and now you’re finishing an ultra-marathon with no end in sight!
It’s understandable that people are experiencing quarantine fatigue and struggling with our most recent restrictions. We’re exhausted, stressed, anxious and nervous about going through the holidays without our loved ones while trying to stay safe from the invisible enemy.
It’s hard to stay positive but if you can approach the last 6 weeks of 2020 with a plan, it will help you endure. Here’s some tips to develop your resilience:
Focus on what you CAN do versus what you CAN’T do.
Avoid dwelling on all the things we can’t do and instead create a new normal, a different tradition and something fun to look forward to based on what we still can do. One of my clients who had experienced a spinal cord injury and lost the use of his legs reported that he became a lot happier when he decided to no longer focus on the 1000 things he couldn’t do anymore and instead focus on the 100,000 things he still could do.
Control what you can and accept what you can’t.
A lot of what is going on is out of your control, but you can control your attitude and response. Imagine our lives right now as a sailboat. We can’t control the wind, the weather or the conditions. We can only control what we do with our boat. Let’s get through this storm!
Be grateful
Everyday think of 3 different things that you appreciate and that you are grateful for. No matter how bad this is, I bet you can find many things to be thankful for. Perhaps it’s a roof over your head, food to eat, clean water to drink, your health, a job, friends and family etc. It’s always important to remember that for most of us living in a developed country, your very worst day would be another person’s miracle day. Having a gratitude mindset gets us into the habit of looking for the positives.
Breathe
Whenever you start to feel stressed, anxious and overwhelmed, stop and start to breathe slow and deep. Just the act of slow, deep breathing helps to evoke the relaxation response and calms your mind.
Exercise
Move your body everyday. It’s important for your physical and mental health, your stress relief and to strengthen your immune system. It can be as easy as going for a walk or taking a virtual class. Moving your body gets your blood flowing and releases our happy-go-lucky endorphins and makes us feel better. This is always important, but even more so during this global health crisis.
Get outside.
The fresh air, sunshine (when we can get it) and natural scenery is good for us. Opt for outdoors when you can, even if it’s raining.
Meditation
Download an app like Calm or Headspace and spend a few minutes everyday meditating. It calms the mind and allows us to better manage all the chaos.
Acts of Kindness
Everyday do a random act of kindness. When everything feels so negative, making an effort at spreading kindness and love makes us feel so much happier.
Journal
Everyday write about one positive thing that happened that day. It keeps us in a positive mindset. It’s hard to have a pity party and settle into doom and gloom when you’re writing about something positive.
Your physical and mental health is critical right now. Take steps to preserve your happiness and assure you can come out stronger on the other side of this global crisis.
Yours in health & fitness,
Sherri McMillan
Note: As an avid Columbian reader, you can redeem a complimentary initial in person or virtual personal training appointment to help get you started. Email us for more details.
We Are Open!
Northwest Personal Training is NOW OPEN! We are SO EXCITED to see you! For Private Training, you’ll have the option to continue doing virtual training, outdoor training or training at the studio. For Group Fitness classes, you will be able to continue doing virtual online classes (live or saved) and we are also going to host some outdoor programming.
We specific safety precautions that we have in place so please watch this video where I explain everything we are doing to keep you safe.
Here is a link to our Reopening Protocol in detail so you can review closely.
#NWPTSTRONG
Sherri McMillan
Sherri McMillan, holds a master's degree in exercise physiology and has been inspiring the world to adopt a fitness lifestyle for more than 33 years. She has received numerous industry awards including 2010 CanFitPro International Presenter of the Year, 2006 IDEA Fitness Director of the Year, 1998 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year, 1998 CanFitPro Fitness Presenter of the Year and 2005/2006 ACE Fitness Educator of the Year - Runner up. She is a fitness trainer, fitness columnist for various magazines and newspapers, author of five books and manuals including "Go For Fit - the Winning Way to Fat Loss" and "Fit over Forty" and the featured presenter in various fitness DVDs. She has presented hundreds of workshops to thousands of fitness leaders throughout Canada, Australia, Mexico, Jamaica, New Zealand, Germany, England, Spain, South America, Asia and the U.S. She is the owner of Northwest Personal Training in downtown Vancouver, the founder of WHY Racing Events & WHY Community, participates in various community fundraisers and can be found running, biking, or hiking around the community. Find more information at nwpersonaltraining.com.