Time
Our perception of the construct of “time” has changed dramatically in the past few weeks. Previously, many of us experienced stress with multiple responsibilities and not enough time to attend to them. How often would you ask someone “How are you” and their response was “Busy!” With this increase in free time, we have more time to reflect on our day and our feelings. When we don’t have the busyness of our day to day obligations to distract us, we may fill our time worrying about the same thing over and over. We are constantly hearing a lot of uncertain news and may feel uncomfortable with not knowing how long this pandemic might last. It is tempting to jump to conclusions or make decisions out of fear (stockpiling supplies, looking too far into the future and catastrophizing, or imagining worst case scenarios). When my impulse is to think too far ahead or react to the news I am hearing, I often stop myself and remind myself of a phrase I heard many years ago - “never make a decision in your darkest hour.” Along with that, I am reminded of the fact that “even the darkest hour only has 60 minutes.” We might have moments where we wonder when this will end and how much longer we can adapt to our new reality. This can cause anxiety and stress. In “thinking about your thinking” we have to challenge some of that anxiety to determine if it is a valid thought or if it is our anxiety we are reacting to. For example, have you noticed that your reactions to the daily news changes based on the day? I have quickly realized that my days are easier when the weather has been nicer. If I am outside for a large part of the day and in nature or away from the news, I feel more confident in my ability to handle the uncertainty of this time. On days where it has been cold and rainy, the day feels longer and any news I hear seems gloomy. I am gentler with my reactions at those time, realizing that my decision making may be affected by the moment I am currently in. Remembering that “This too shall pass” helps to reframe the situation that we are currently in. There are so many phrases to help us reframe our concept of time – now that we have the time, here are a few to reflect on:
My Reflections:
2 Challenges
- With the extra time and limited instruction for my own kids, it is hard to keep them from using all of that time on screens!
- The uncertainty I feel from not knowing how much time we will have to spend staying at home – how long is this going to last?
2 Positives
· With the extra free time we have at nights now, we are doing family events together (board games, wiffle ball competitions, walks around the neighborhood, meals, read alouds, etc.) and also renewing relationships outside of our family – FaceTime with relatives, neighbors, friends, etc. Although we are all distancing from each other physically we have the time and virtual means to connect with many people that we don’t always have the time to talk to.
· During the past two weeks, my parents have been preparing to sell their house that they have owned for 44 years. With this extra time, I have had the chance to go through (boxes!) of pictures, notes, etc. and really take the time to remember and even share these memories with others.
What can I do differently tomorrow to reflect on time?
- In reading the list of ‘Time Quotes” there were many that I would love to talk about with my family – I am going to pick three of them and discuss what they mean/how they might apply right now.
Your Reflections:
2 Challenges
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2 Positives
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What can you do differently tomorrow to reflect on time?
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