I’ve got some not so breaking news for you. We’re not going to get back to normal anytime soon. The Delta variant showed us that Covid-19 is here to stay, and it’s up to us to learn to live with it.

I will leave the health and safety protocols to doctors and scientists, but a recent chat with Dr. Michele S. Alignay Ph.D., an expert in Family Psychology and Self-Growth, proved to be enlightening.

Speaking of the lessons she’s learned from the past year in lockdown, she gave an outline of how we could manage our internal lives so that we may survive the next year and beyond.

#1 RECALIBRATE REGULARLY

It’s always good to reflect on days past and figure out what works and what doesn’t. It’s the only way we’re going to survive the next coming months with our sanity and well-being intact.

The lockdowns have made our worlds smaller, magnifying trivial issues and amplifying everyday events. If our child is having difficulties with online learning, for instance, it’s best to address the issue immediately. Analyze the situation, and make adjustments accordingly. In this way, the issue doesn’t grow into unmanageable proportions.

We should be as quick as the virus, which has come up with different mutations in such a short span of time, when it comes to recalibrating our lives.

#2 EXERCISE RESILIENCY

I know that we’re tired of hearing the word resilient, but it cannot be helped. We are going to hear from this word for a long time to come because we are going to need it.

resilience: the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness

We are going to need to be resilient than ever before. We already know that government response has been lacking, to say the least, so it is up to us to take care of ourselves and others. Yes, we can hope for things to get better, but hope is not a plan. It is best to think ahead, look at possible scenarios, and map out plans.

#3 REVISIT PRIORITIES

The pandemic has made us rethink our priorities. Some of what we thought were necessities pre-pandemic were luxuries, and vice versa. In the next few months, we need to constantly revisit our priorities. We only have so much energy, so it’s best to focus on those that make the biggest impact on our lives.

#4 REALIZE OUR INTERCONNECTEDNESS

While the pandemic locked us in our little bubbles, it also highlighted how interconnected our little bubbles were to each other. We were not going to get through this not unless all of us got through it. And if we don’t look out for each other, not all of us would get through the other side.

The pandemic also emphasized how our choices matter. The choice of the majority led our nation to this, a government with one of the least effective response to the pandemic. We could wail about this all day, but we could also start working to make a difference. There are things we cannot change, but there are things that we can change. We can start at home by talking about citizenship to our children. We can start in our community by supporting efforts to help our countrymen affected by the endless lockdowns. We can start by registering for the upcoming election and starting the conversation about what kind of leadership the country needs at this moment. We are not as helpless as they want us to believe, remember that.

Here’s the link to my chat with Dr. Ichel on the occasion of her 44th birthday. Enjoy!

Mona Lisa masked photo by Yaroslav Danylchenko from Pexels / Mona Lisa museum photo by cottonbro from Pexels