How To Use The Quarantine To Reset Your Life

Here we are. The earth has hit the big reset button and is presenting us with the possibility to do the same—to re-evaluate our lives, what is true for us, what we truly desire, and how we would like to move forward.

The world has changed dynamically in just two months, and while it is important to acknowledge the impact that it is having, it is equally important to recognize the gifts we are being given.

People have been living their lives on autopilot—rushed, busy, run-down and distracted by the need to succeed. One of the most common complaints was, “If only I had more time…”

This time has unexpectedly been granted us all as a surprise gift. The frantic pace of the world has diminished, and it is suddenly socially acceptable to slow down and take a pause to reconsider what actually matters to you.

When the world hits play again, what do you desire to have as your life?

People often fantasize about the “good old days” and wish for things to return to the way they used to be. This doesn’t actually work. We can’t return to what was, as the world has moved on and the future is forever changed.

What we can do is acknowledge the gifts of the past, the things we have moved away from that we would like to add again in some form as we move forward into creating the future we desire.

What is that for YOU? What is that future? If you would like to go forward and create the good new days that are possible, here are my top three tips on how to use this time of quarantine to reset your life.

1. Ask yourself, “If I could truly create anything as my future, what would it be?”

Many of us never stop and ask what we desire to create in our lives. Rather, we fall into the autopilot of existence and create our lives based on what others decide is valuable. Until you ask the question, “If I could truly create anything as my future, what would it be?” you will never know what it is you desire. But when you give yourself permission to ask, you begin to clarify what is true for you.

Here is a little tip: What is true for you makes you feel lighter. What is not true for you makes you feel heavier. As you begin to look at what you desire, everything that lights you up is true for you.

That is your green light—move toward those things.

2. Try something new

What is something you have always wanted to do but have never prioritized or taken the time to do? What skills, hobbies, and activities are you curious about? Are there skills that you would like to acquire?

During this slower pace of the world, what if you used the gift of time to learn a new skill? Start cooking. Paint pictures. Take photographs. Write a play. What would be fun for you? What would contribute to the future you desire?

Just please don’t make it linear or logical. The future is always in motion. Follow what is light, what makes you excited and happy.

3. Choose a gratitude point of view

Your point of view creates your reality. Another way of saying that is, “What you decide is so, is so.”

For example, if you decide that you hate being home and you hate not being able to see your friends, go to school or work, shop, travel, or play football—if you decide that really, everything about quarantine is awful—then EVERY SINGLE morning you are going to wake up and feel awful.

If, however, you choose to see the gifts and possibilities that are available in this new space, then more and more possibilities will become available. Your point of view of gratitude is creating a reality of possibilities.

Take cooking as an example. You can either resent the fact that restaurants are closed and that you have to make your own food or you can be grateful for this possibility to explore how this could be fun, how you could try new recipes, experiment, and play with ingredients while cooking.

Or look at what is changing on Earth. You can either hate the fact that you cannot go on holiday or drive to town and hit your favorite bar or you can be amazed by the fact that Chinese children are seeing a blue sky for the first time and endangered sea turtles are hatching eggs on Brazil’s deserted beaches.

Your choice. Choose your point of view. Choose your experience.

This time of isolation is a time for contemplation. It is a time for reflection, for planning, for learning, for connection and for creation. It is a time of embracing gratitude for the small things and the big things that are available. It is a time for slowing down, for stopping and smelling the flowers. You can continue to focus on despair which will cause it to grow. Or you can be present with your family, with your kids, and with your life, bringing forward the things from the past you may have forgotten into the present, which allows you to include them in the creation of your future.