Staying Positive During This Pandemic

Stay Positive

It’s not what you think it is. This isn't about getting the virus but rather getting positive vibes during this pandemic. This 2020 has been a rough year to us. Especially for us Filipinos who have been through all the unexpected events that changed the lives of everyone. Early this year we had the Taal Volcano eruption, the recent typhoons and this Covid-19 pandemic that we are still facing.

Now, we are on what we so-called the “New Normal”, wherein everyone should observe social distancing and wearing of face masks whenever we go out and non essential gatherings are still being limited. The schools are now conducted online, work is done from home (WFH), and access to travel is also a struggle nowadays. Some businesses need to close and others need to cut down the workforce of their company which led to others losing their jobs. It was a tough time for a lot of us. Some are being affected with all the negative emotions and anxiety of being quarantined at home, others get bored, saddened and easily frustrated with things because they can only do so much because of the quarantine protocol that is being implemented.

How We Take The Pandemic

As we are now in the 8th month of observing community quarantine, most of us are having a hard time adjusting to it especially in the first few months. But as the day goes by we just learned to get used to the “New Normal”. And as Filipinos, we are known to be jolly as always when it comes to anything, it is like our nature to always smile and stay positive whenever things go wrong. Maybe that’s also the reason why we easily adapt to this New Normal. Maybe some of us are still having a hard time accepting the New Normal. But how do we stay positive still after all these tragic events? I have listed some of my personal advice to stay positive during this pandemic or probably to stay positive or to look for opportunities all the time when there are unfortunate circumstances that will come your way.

1. PRAY & ALWAYS BE THANKFUL

The Philippines is known to be a catholic country. We are devotional, we know when to turn to when life gets hard. But we need to remember that, we cannot just turn to our Creator in time of need. We can always, always pray and thank Him for all the things that come our way, may it be bad or good. Because after all, everything that happens to us, happens for a reason and He had all the valid reasons for it. We just need to believe in Him. It works, trust me! :) As what, one of my favorite pastors said, “Make it a habit to pray, it works.” - Pastor Carl.

2. FIND TIME TO TALK TO FAMILY AND FRIENDS

Communicating and telling all your emotions to someone is a great outlet to vent out. We cannot just keep it all to ourselves. It may be difficult for us to start communicating because some might have their hesitations, but believe me talking to your friends, especially to your family members is a great help. Let them know what you're feeling and I know that they will listen, and eventually the burden that you’re feeling will get light.

3. AVOID NEGATIVITY

Just as the phrase itself means, avoiding all the negative things that will set back your road to being positive. Being with that negative vibes won’t help you at all.

4. USING SOCIAL MEDIA AS AN OUTLET

Social media played a big role for us since that was the only thing that helped us communicate with our family and friends. Not only that social media or the online world turned from a hobby to an everyday routine for most of us. For some, it was an outlet for them to vent out their frustrations about the pandemic that’s going on. Others take it as an opportunity for them to create an income. And for others especially who lost their jobs find it easy to look for their new work online.

I, myself, found a way to generate an income during this pandemic since I was one of those employees who had lost a job this pandemic. I started venturing out with my interest in baking which led me to create a small online business for my homemade treats. (Dyown’s Tasty Treats) . I also took the opportunity to learn a new skill since I am just staying at home full time. I thought that this is the time to also find another way to generate an income and earn from home also to preoccupy myself if I am not doing anything or if there’s no orders. So, I came across this FB page who offers courses who would like to earn online and of course learn new skills. And now, I am happy to be part of it. Thanks to Filipino Virtual Assistance. They let me do things that I can’t imagine doing. I am happy learning the new skills of being a freelancer which the course that I took. I am learning the skills of being a virtual assistant, social media manager, website creator and a lot more. They still have other courses that you might be interested in. Now, I am building my own branding for this new skill that I am learning.

We might think that this pandemic is a tragic event for all of us. Yes, somehow it is. But for me it is a blessing in disguise because I have found myself, reflecting what is going on and to remain positive, blessed and thankful that this year has not been bad at all, instead it open a new opportunity for me to draw closer to God, to get to know myself more, to be with my family, to have time for my interest and to learn new skills. If we just think things the positive way and to act on what we really like or do you will not think that this pandemic is not as tragic as it is. Hope this will also help you out. God Bless you!