When the Corona lockdown is over, I want to be …
Former Essendon Captain Jobe Watson recently likened the COVID-19 isolation situation to what he experienced while being banned from the AFL.
While many have thankfully not lost their jobs, we have all experienced severe, unquestionable disruption to our regular patterns of life.
“I remember that it was just such an empty feeling because you’re used to your routine and what your identity is and associating that with your work… It makes a huge difference to how you think of yourself… for that to just evaporate overnight… I remember feeling incredibly anxious about it.”
When patterns of life are disturbed we naturally feel anxious. In order to address some of these feelings of helplessness and anxiety it can be useful to make positive plans and take control of your future self.
Many of us now have more time on our hands than we know what to do with and there is only so much baking, watching Joe Exotic and failing to learn a new language you can do.
So taking a leaf out of Watson’s book, use this time positively and as a real chance to redefine you and what is important to you.
Watson explained that during his time away from the game, he found solace through writing down a list of things that he wanted to do and the person he wanted to become when his ban was over.
He told the “Work Through It” podcast:
“It really was like my template for the year and the decisions I made for that year were based off that list… when I looked back at the list that I created and all the things I wanted and the person that I wanted to become, I’d been able to achieve them. That really helped me.”
You can make your own list but some suggestions are:
- What have I learnt about myself?
- What have I enjoyed about the last month?
- What can I achieve with my life?
- How can I personally be different to I was pre-Coronavirus?
- How can I come out of this as a better person all round?
- How can I improve professionally?
- Who do I want to spend more time with?
- What do I want to spend more time doing?
- What do I want to spend less time doing?
- Where do I want to go and visit?
“It really was the map for me being able to change the direction of my life and it was really a worthwhile experience to go through.” Watson told the podcast.