I moved into a Senior Living facility in downtown Minneapolis last year. Our first six months worked out pretty much according to our plan. The apartment was beautiful, the programming was more than we had hoped for, and the other residents were really nice and interesting people. During that time, I had a mix of recreational activities and some work.
Then the pandemic hit. This was not what we hoped for. The apartment and the other residents were both still great. But we couldn’t visit with residents and the programming stopped, although it has restarted mostly through Zoom. This left me with more time on my hands than I had anticipated.
It became clear quickly that:
- we were not going back to “normal” anytime soon no matter how much I hoped that we would
- I couldn’t fix the Covid problem myself
- I didn’t know how long the situation would last
So, what could I hope for now? I concluded that the best outcome, under the circumstances, was to use my “extra” time as effectively as I could. So here is what I did:
- I worked more on my business than I thought I would, developing a course on life-purpose as my first venture.
- I spent more quality time with my wife. I have enjoyed that a lot.
- I Zoomed with friends and relatives who live all over.
- I even developed relationships with strangers on LinkedIn.
I won’t say that I have made lemonade out of lemons. But I am doing activities that I love with people I love. I hope that the pandemic will end soon. But in the meantime, I will continue to meet the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities provided by the pandemic.
How are you using your hope to thrive in the time of pandemic?