Summary

The author is using the upcoming Chinese New Year as a catalyst to restart their life after a period of inactivity and self-neglect during the Covid-19 pandemic, drawing inspiration from a Moomin Valley episode to embrace acceptance and make lifestyle changes.

Abstract

The article discusses the author's journey to revitalize their life after a 10-month period of stagnation due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This period led to disruptions in daily routines, closure of facilities, and a general decline in personal health and motivation. The author, who had previously been in denial about the long-term nature of the pandemic, found motivation in the approach of the Chinese New Year and the Finnish cartoon Moomin Valley. The cartoon's character Snufkin, who leaves Moomin Valley as winter approaches, symbolizes the acceptance of necessary changes and the anticipation of a fresh start. The author outlines a series of personal strategies to kick-start life again, including waking up earlier, journaling intentions, adopting health practices like drinking apple cider vinegar and intermittent fasting, and establishing a work start-time without a rigid morning routine. The article emphasizes the importance of mindfulness, movement, and an evening routine to maintain a meaningful and intentional life, rather than returning to unsustainable pre-pandemic habits.

Opinions

The author believes in the power of acceptance as a first step towards personal rejuvenation.
They suggest that a small hibernation or setback is insignificant in the grand scheme of life and should not be overly stressed.
The author values intentions over goals, advocating for a conscious to-do list that brings meaning and fulfillment to daily life.
They recommend a start-time for work rather than a strict morning routine to encourage mindfulness and adaptability.
The author emphasizes the importance of replacing unhealthy habits with new, beneficial routines, such as air punches or stretching, to maintain energy levels.
An evening routine is preferred for winding down, engaging in digital detox, meditation, and quality interactions with loved ones.
The author critiques the tendency to focus on aesthetics like Scandinavian hygge or minimalism without understanding the underlying philosophies that promote a calm and gentle mindspace.
They advocate for a restart that leads to a more meaningful and intentional life, rather than a return to previous, unsustainable lifestyles.

I’m Finally Restarting My Life after Giving Up for the Past 10 Months During Covid-19

How to make an effective come back when things have gone pear-shaped

My life has gone pear-shaped and so is my ass. The past 10 months have disrupted my life so much. No more daily walks uphill to commute, the swimming pool I’ve been for the past 7 years is closed, the restaurant scene is messed up.

Some people were adaptive very early on, and have made changes to adopt a new routine. Some people, like me, thought this was all going to be a temporary thing, have let ourselves go.

From time to time I’ve done kettlebell work out or take a long cycle ride. But mostly I was just watching Netflix and feeling sorry for myself.

I’ve also ignored making any new year’s resolution, the one day that everyone is motivated. I wasn’t.

But the Chinese new year is coming (12 February this year). As a Chinese, I’m motivated to use this as another landmark to re-start my life. Actually, I wrote this article on 28 January 2021 and changes are already happening. Here’s how I re-start life after a long-hibernation.

First thing first: acceptance

One of the first signs of me feeling motivated to restart again was after (really randomly) watching this episode of Moomin Valley. If you don’t know what Moomin is, it’s an old cartoon created by Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson in 1945.

The particular episode talks about a character — Snufkin needs to leave Moomin Valley as winter comes and the Moomin family (some super cute and round fairy tale creatures) have to hibernate. Snufkin’s going to travel and will come back to the Valley in spring when the Moomins wake up.

The modern world is fast-paced. We are constantly working, doing, and achieving something. When we finish one responsibility or reach one goal, we hop on to the next, more ambitious goal.

It’s good that we are motivated, but too much of it and too unconscious of our chase will burn us out. During the pandemic, when life is paused, some machine-human continue to work, maybe extra hard. But for some of us, the pause has frozen us, like a laptop in shock, and we just collapsed.

I was guilty about this for a long time, so much so I got anxiety disorder. But hey, what’s done is done, just smile and accept that maybe like the Moomins, we hibernated for a little while, and spring is coming so let’s wake up and look forward!

Things we can do to kick-start life again

It’s important to set our mindset right through accepting a small hibernation (or setback, or pause, or pear shape) is nothing in the grand scheme of things. Just like a gap year/sabbatical during a lifelong career is nothing. We are putting too much stress on trivial setbacks.

Here is a list of things we can do to make an effective come back:

Wake up half an hour earlier than usual (yes even if that means it’s 5 am): time is different in the morning than at night, move your body gently this morning and do feet-related exercise(try this or dip your bare feet in soil). Focusing on our feet grounds us, and help us to set the right foot forward every new day.
Journal your intentions: Intentions aren’t goals, more like a conscious to-do list. Goals are soul-less and they burn us out without careful management. Our intention is how we structure our day-to-day life in a way that’s meaningful and fruitful. An example of goals will be to lose 5kg; an example of intentions will be to listen to the body and incorporate 15 minutes of movements when your body needs it.
Drink apple cider vinegar with hot water and skip breakfast: Here are all the benefits of apple cider vinegar and intermittent fasting. For the purpose of this article, the sourness of vinegar and the warmth of a hot drink will wake you up and give you the energy for the morning. This is a good ritual to have. I’ve also noticed that a prolonged fasting period helps to clear my mind.
Don’t have a morning routine, but a start-time: It’s a constant debate whether to have a morning routine or not. If there’s one, we can auto-pilot the first few hours of the day and be ultra-productive; if there’s none, we can relax our mind and ease into the workday. I prefer the latter because I prefer to be mindful rather than auto-piloting in the morning. I also think it depends on the body, sometimes it’s creative, sometimes it’s restless. The key is to avoid idling in bed. But there should be a set time when we start working.

Stop Telling Me to Have a Morning Routine

Some people don’t need exercise or coffee to get their day started.

medium.com

Find a substitute for your hour of “slum”: I notice that my energy starts to dip at 3 pm and if no break’s taken I will become jelly by 6 pm. My old job allowed me to go to the gym/swimming pool around then to pick myself up, but now I can’t go because of Covid. When I was hibernating, I didn’t manage to replace this habit with something else. But I’m going to now, I’ll shower, take a walk, do stretches, or even do air punches (it’s really good fun). Observe at what point do you get lazy, become aware of it, and move. Movement, not rest, will keep your fuel burning.
Have an evening routine instead: Although I don’t like a morning routine, I like a wind-down evening routine. Digital detox, meditation, chat with loved ones, I believe this is the time to do it. It’s also the time to build a relationship with your body and others, to give and receive, to be compassionate, and to be kind. Journaling is also a good idea, anything but over-stimulation. Let go of the pain, guilt, and anger accumulated during the day.

This way, we make sure we start tomorrow afresh.

Our space and the mind

I find it funny when people get hyped up on aesthetics such as Scandinavian hygge, minimalist, Japanese zen, etc, but always neglect the philosophy behind them.

Our mind also needs a gentle, calming aesthetics, like our space. If we are always hyperactive, chasing goals endlessly, we will become unhealthy. When there was a chance to switch off, like the pandemic, we will let ourselves go.

Coming back is not to coming back to the old self, but to restart a life that’s much more meaningful and intentional. It wasn’t sustainable, that’s why we escaped, so why go back to it?