From memes and laughing about the Dutch prime minister shaking hands after his no-hand-shaking speech, we suddenly found ourselves in a time of utter uncertainty and all the laughter is now awkward silences and a “What is actually going on?”. To be honest, no one has the answer to what is best to confront this situation, because we are in times of crisis.
If you were too young in 2009, we kinda lived through this with the swine flu, and things did recover. But boiling up through the years and into 2020, the uncertainty of so many things: economic crisis, war, climate change, the Australian and Amazon fires, etc. just got to a point of explosion, and with it, we have Corona crisis.
As I said, no one has the right answer. But I want to assure you that in times of crisis, there are some measures you can take:
Reach out to people: Most of us are feeling the same uncertainty as you are, and we all have different ways of looking at the situation, but we are all united by the fact that we are not sure of how this will evolve. I believe that we are all anxious and the very least we could do is keep each other’s company and try to mitigate all the doubts and fears with love and companionship.
Besides, companionship doesn’t have to be face-to-face. IBCoMagazine will be contributing to this by creating Spotify lists (We have a new Spotify account @ibcomagazine) and new movies and shows recommendations that can help us bond and stay strong through these weird-looking days ahead.
If we end up quarantining, try to stay active: There are a number of YouTube channels of physical exercises and mindfulness that can help you go through the crisis while feeling you are actually accomplishing something new. In my case, I started catching up with Pick up Limes videos and doing some Blogilates exercises that I can do from my home.
However, if it’s not what you’re inclined to, you can always try different new things. Such as journaling, learning a new language or course online (If you’re interested in the business focus area I really recommend the Google Analytics course).
Keep calm and carry on: As the British said as motivation to prepare for World War II, we need to keep on going. Yes, things are going to change drastically for a few weeks, but thankfully, it won’t be forever. Try to build and stick to a routine. Being indoors too much can be detrimental to our health, but if you actually set times to do different things, and you can check things off a list at the end of the day, it can feel quite accomplishing. Try to use this period to become more mindful about yourself and where you want to go in life: set goals, monitor your progress, learn and enjoy your growth.
There is not much to be said yet, but I know I needed to put this into words to soothe my soul and to try to make others feel a bit better with this crappy situation. Skype with your family and friends, catch up on that Netflix show, read a new book, and do those online lessons that IBCoM is throwing our way with Canvas. Let’s remain hopeful that if we take care of ourselves now, and we stay in, then May, June, and July will come with all the festivals and shows we are missing now and with a newfound sense of freedom and happiness as we can leave this grey cloud of uncertainty behind.
With love,
Cece.
Writer: Cecilia Arroyo
Illustration by: Valentina Vincent (Instagram @CerdoAleman)
Editor: Kat Nivera