How the Pandemic helped me find time for self-love!

Self-love can make you look at yourself so differently!

When I put down my papers at the marketing consulting firm I worked at in March 2020, I had no clue that in two weeks, I would be serving the remainder of my notice period at home, ’cause of the lockdown.

I didn’t really have a plan before I put down my papers. No future goal as such. The only thought I had was that I was going to finally travel to visit my sister in the US from India after a long time, and I could decide my way forward there. But that plan never took off. And so, I had to figure out what to do. I had been thinking long and hard before I quit my marketing job about why I wanted to even do that. I knew I wasn’t happy with my job as it wasn’t helping me grow. I had also not been in a good place mentally and emotionally and had been neglecting my health when I was working.

With the plan to visit my sister cancelled, I knew it was time to face what I’d been neglecting. It was time to improve my physical, mental and emotional health! I was turning 30 later that year, and I knew I wanted to feel better about myself than I had felt in all of my 20’s. So I set to work -

1. I began by reading self-help books — I read a lot. Books on personal development, literature, classics, and Harry Potter (my favourite book series). I read books that made me laugh, cry, smile, be positive, and learn and understand myself better.
2. I practised Yoga — One of my biggest achievements has been doing Yoga at home. I found this Yoga teacher YouTuber, Adriene. Her YouTube channel, Yoga with Adriene, caters to everyone who wants to practise yoga, especially at home! Adriene’s channel has been a universe-send! I started practising her videos and my breathing got better ’cause of her. If you have anxiety issues like me, you know how essential it is to breathe properly to calm yourself down.
3. I began meditation — this was initially very difficult, but now that I’m a year into this practice, I’m much better at it. My concentration has improved considerably, and I’m calmer.
4. I listened to self-affirmations — most of the self-help books I read, spoke about how self-affirmations help with changing your self-talk from negative to positive. Well, it’s true! I used to listen to self-affirmations audios while I was sleeping at night, all through the morning, so that my subconscious mind would capture these words. I did this for almost 3 months, and today, while I haven’t mastered positive self-talk completely, I can stop my negative thoughts and switch them to positive ones more effectively.
5. I went back to practising hula-hooping — Hula-hooping is something I had picked up years ago. I had joined beginner hula-hooping classes for fun previously, and even bought a couple of hoops to practise at home. I wasn’t regular though, but over the lockdown, I began incorporating it into my daily workout routine and started learning more tricks. Hooping is not just a great workout but is also great for your mental health. It makes you feel good about yourself as you move your body along with the flow of the hoop in a free-flowing manner, grooving to the beats of your favourite dance tracks.

Along with hooping, I started learning other new things.

1. I learnt how to juggle — I had read the book, Limitless, penned by celebrity brain coach, Jim Kwik and watched his videos where he spoke about juggling and how it is a good brain-boosting exercise. I thought I should try it. I also took it up as a challenge because I am usually a very clumsy person, and drop things without too much focus. This was a good way to learn focus and to learn something new. A year later, I am still an amateur, but I can now do a few juggling tricks!
2. I learnt how to speed-read. Well, sort of. Work-in-progress. After reading Jim Kwik’s book, ‘Limitless’ and watching his videos again. His book is amazing! I’d highly recommend it. Anyway, I understood how the concept works, and I have to say it is a great way to read more books and retain information long-term.
3. I started studying climate change courses. Over the last few years, I have become a climate enthusiast, and am trying to change things in my personal and professional life to become more sustainable in every aspect of my life. I began to understand more about the environmental situation everywhere around the world, and it has helped fuel my passion to drive positive climate action.

These are a few of the action points that I took during the lockdown which helped me feel better about myself, and realize my future goals. Today, I am in a better place mentally and emotionally. I feel stronger.

I don’t know if I would have been able to do this any other time. I’ve tried to previously, but could never achieve a positive mindset towards life in general. But since the lockdown, everything seemed to fall in place!

I still have a long way to go, in every aspect of my life, but I’m hopeful now about a happier future for myself!

I hope you were inspired in some way after reading this, and do what it takes to put your mental and emotional health on priority going forward!

Love and light,

Nity Infinity

Be Open Says;