5 Ways To Stay Positive During the Pandemic

COVID has been surreal, and I know it can be challenging to find ways to stay positive during the pandemic. That’s how I’ve felt many times during the quarantine here in Ontario. I cannot even begin to imagine how frightening it’s been for my American friends and those countries impacted on a more severe level. 

It’s been strange, and sadly, for some, it’s been devastating. Regardless of what’s happened in your life, 2020 has been a year of significant change.

It takes time to adapt and accept change, but it’s necessary to move forward (read more about change here). So what are some ways to stay positive during the pandemic? I’ve outlined ideas below:

5 simple ways to stay positive during the pandemic

1. Limit Your Time On Social Media.

Since this all started, the time I was spending on social media went up almost 200%! It’s embarrassing and shocking when you track your time.  Guess what I was feeling more anxious, stressed, and scared than I had been in a long while.  

Social media is inundated with many negative people, fear-mongering articles, hate, division, and overall pessimism. All of this takes a toll, and it sure did for me.

I’ve since cut down my time to no more than an hour a day or less. Some days I won’t go on at all. I’m feeling calmer, happier, and have been more productive.

Social media has its benefits. Such as keeping up to date with news, advocating for important issues, staying connected with friends and family, especially if they live abroad.  

However, left unchecked, it’s easy to fall into the trap of scrolling and scrolling while watching others enjoy their “perfect” lives and realize you are not living yours.  

2. Get outside. 

I know it sounds cliche, but you need to make sure you are getting some good old vitamin D on that lovely face of yours  

Sunshine is a known factor in increasing a hormone in your brain called serotonin.☀️

Serotonin is known to boost your mood and help you feel calmer and focussed.  Nature walks, a stroll around the block or some gardening will do. Hiking is an excellent family activity, as is kite flying.

Exploring areas outside of your city is a great activity, it feels exciting especially now that travel is restricted. It’s a great way to stay positive during the pandemic.

We find areas that are not busy and walk around, take photos or have a picnic. All of these photos have been from our walks around different areas.

3. Focus on your hobby or find a new one.

With the extra time some of us have at home, spend it doing something you love. Whether you have a hobby or need to start a new one, just do it.  

A hobby will also help keep you more productive. Boredom, irritation, laziness, and other unwanted things will become more prevalent if you aren’t keeping busy.  

Some great ideas for hobbies you can do at home to stay positive during the pandemic: 

• Board games. You can read this article, which lists sites to play board games online for free.
• Scrapbooking. You can find many online resources like this for creating beautiful scrapbooks for special people/events in your life.  
• Learn to play an instrument. Now is a great time to learn how to play an instrument that you’ve always wanted to. YouTube has a plethora of teaching videos of any instrument you can think of.🎸🎹🥁
• Writing/Journaling. Not only is this a great creative outlet, but it’s also therapeutic. Here are some fantastic journaling prompts for self-discovery and self-reflection.
• DIY. Get yourself a DIY book or ideas on Pinterest to finally work on a project you have wanted to do. 
• Photography. With most of our cell phones having great cameras these days, why not take up photography while you go out on your nature walks. I love taking pictures and will often share them on my Instagram page if you want to follow along.
• Dance. If you’ve wanted to learn hip-hop dancing, salsa, or ballet, now is the time. You can watch free videos on YouTube to get you started, and many dance schools are offering Zoom classes.
• Book club. Join or start a book club with friends. Then you can have joint calls to talk about them and get some much needed social time in.
• Adult colouring books. Yep, this is one of my new hobbies since “quarantining.” I love art but don’t have much artistic ability, so this is an easy and fun option.  I found this site with free samples of printable pages for you.
• Learn magic. My hubby does magic, and I can’t tell you how entertaining it is and how much people look forward to his tricks.  Here is a video with some easy beginner tricks.

4.Exercise.

Being physically active is known to lift your spirits and decrease your level of stress. So it’s a simple way to stay positive during the pandemic.

Have you ever been to see your doctor or therapist about stress, anxiety, or physical ailments, and they ask you if you exercise? If you don’t, they always tell you to start.

There’s a good reason for that because physical activity releases “feel-good” chemicals in your brain called endorphins. These help to reduce anxiety and make you feel more relaxed.

So don’t wait to get your cutest pair of sneakers on and get walkin’. It’s such a simple way to stay active, and this time of year, there’s so much beauty to admire.

If you prefer fitness or weight training, you can look up online videos so you won’t get bored. 

My family and I recently started playing badminton together, and it’s a blast. Family sports are a good way for everyone to stay active while spending quality time together.

5. Stay connected to your supports.

Being at home has some benefits, but there are downfalls like being socially isolated and feeling disconnected from friends and loved ones.

It’s essential to stay connected, whether through socially distanced visits, FaceTime chats, Zoom calls, texting, or talking on the phone.  

I know people who have also started book clubs or cocktail hours online to keep it fun and maintain a sense of normalcy.

Do you have any ideas of ways to stay positive during the pandemic? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below.

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RELATED ARTICLES:

• 75 Family Fun Activities To Do During The Pandemic
• 12 Ideas To Help Beat The Pandemic Blues
• 20 Simple Ideas To Cheer Someone Up
• How To Overcome Toxic Habits To Live Happier, Part 1
• Things to Let Go Of and To Keep in the New Year

Sending lots of love till next time, my friends, and never forget how amazing you are. You’ve got this!

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