We are in a stage of the quarantine that is getting harder and harder on people's spirit. I see that through social media and the conversations I have with friends and family: it is pretty easy to feel trapped and see our home as a cage. Most of us are bored and staying home is getting on our nerves.
Can you guess what happens when we feel this way?
We leash out, get easily angry (and hungry but that is another story!) and are in search for drama. We look for people to put the blame on and we let our frustration and anger control our behaviour. We focus on how the situation is affecting us and forget that we all are in this together. This is how most of the little “online wars” are created, sometimes with the worst intention, sometimes just to make people laugh:
Pressure is put on people when saying we have to take this quarantine as an opportunity to learn something new.
Jokes on getting fat from staying home are created without thinking it can hurt people who might be in this situation.
Critics are done on women who decide to show their body on social media, because this is their way to feel better about themselves (actually, my bad, this happens all the time!).
We are in a fragile and unstable time, we can easily go from fighting this all together as a community, to becoming selfish and creating a civil war.
So what if, instead of letting our emotions control our actions, we focus on passing time in an healthier way?
But I'm so bored!
Hey pssst, come closer, we have a secret to share…
Boredom is a state of mind.
It is difficult to believe there is nothing for us to learn, create or share. Let's be honest here, most of us can easily find some suff to do! We are lucky to live in an era where technology is 100% part of our life, so unless you don't have access to internet, many activities are accessible online. If internet, for X reasons, isn't an option for you, there are still books you can read, creative activities you can start and games you can play (remember when we were kids and used to have fun with almost everything?).
By the way, sometimes it feels good to not do anything. If you just feel like sitting on a chair and contemplate life through your window with a cup of hot coffee or a glass of wine, then you should do it. Never blame yourself and feel guilty for doing something simple. As long as it makes you happy (and you are not hurting anyone) this is the most important!
The problem isn't related to inaccessible activities, it is just a lack of motivation!
Mindset, one more time, is the key.
If nothing around you motivates you, it's probably because there is something going on with your emotions: maybe you feel lonely, maybe you are frustrated or sad... It might be a good idea then to dig deeper and figure out why you feel the way you feel at that moment.
It is normal and totally ok to not feel awesome 100% of the time. Negative feelings are actually a way to realign with ourselves to get closer to the person we wanna be. They are here to tell us that something in our life isn't right for us and needs to be improved. But it is also important to not let those feelings completely absorb our light and positivity, neither to let them drag us down. This why it is essential to understand where they come from, so we can “fix” the problem and bring back happiness. The goal is simply to feel better.
We assure you that if you feel happy, you will find something YOU WANT TO DO!
Don't forget to have fun!
Movement is a great way to help being motivated… So we have one word for you: MUSIC. Yeah you got it right, put some tunes on and dance! Music is an universal language, everybody react to it. Even some animals have the ability to understand and move on the waves when certain types of melody are played. There is a great show on Netflix called “Explained”, one episode talks about that and it's super interesting!
Alright! Now that the motivation is back, here is a list of different activities you can do at home:
Build a card castle or a fort… Or a fort made out of cards!
Parkour! with your furniture (don't get too crazy there though, you don't wanna end up at the hospital).
Try the OH NA NA NA challenge if you don't live alone.
Redecorate your home.
Practice handstands.
Organize a short balcony party with your neighbours like those crazy Italian people (those guys are awesome!).
Grow new veggies from veggies you bought at the supermarket.
And of course the classics such as cooking, reading, learning, working out, meditate or watching everything Netflix has to offer.
You will always find something to do that makes you happy as long as you feel at peace with yourself.