Coping with the Curved Ball of Covid-19

Coronavirus has jolted us off-balance and as many of us have never faced a crisis of this nature before, we don’t know how to respond. For many, a sense of security, safety and certainty has disappeared.

Don’t give in to fear

We all have assumptions of how life should be and when something as unexpected as this happens, it’s a struggle to get our minds around it. Many people are living in fear about what the future holds and this fear can be all-consuming. It can cause such a state of stress in our bodies that it undermines our immunity and makes us more susceptible.

When expectations and reality differ

Developing resilience isn’t fun. It requires learning how to deal with setbacks, disappointments and derailed plans. Some days are very hard going but it can also be a time to learn about yourself that you wouldn’t have had if circumstances were normal. If you expect life to conform to your expectations, which are often built on false assumptions, it can easily cause frustration and self-pity. When your expectations and your reality are so different, the ground shifts underneath you and you can either fall or find positive ways to deal with your reality.

Embrace adversity

Embrace adversity as a part of the journey of life. The way you face the curved balls will determine how well you cope with them. You can either face adversity with pessimism and see limitations, or face it with optimism and see opportunities. When you’re determined to learn from any experience, you can use all your resources to explore possibilities.

Every adversity can hold the seed of an equal or greater benefit, even it is difficult to see amidst the disruption. It may not be obvious at first but even the most difficult problems usually have solutions.

Find hope in your new reality

When faced with any radical change in circumstances, it’s natural to feel a flood of emotions. You need to process what you’re feeling but you also need to commit to finding the hope and promise hidden within your new reality.

Curved balls are inevitable

Your plans may be linear but life is not. When you accept that curved balls are inevitable, you learn to trust in your ability to handle them and to find a way to turn them into a catalyst for improvement.

The pandemic may have impacted your livelihood and turned your life upside down but you don’t have to give in and get caught up in futility. In fact, you may just uncover a new path that’s more rewarding than your old one.