I’ve been working from home for years, but even for someone like me, COVID-19 left me feeling beaten down.
Right away, I began to worry about how so many people are suffering from an invisible enemy. I worried about my family over in Michigan. I worried about my freelance career and if I’d be able to survive independently. Most of all, I worried about the future, and if society would ever transition back to how it was just a few short months ago. All at once, the fear that consumed me become too much to handle, and keeping a positive mindset was nearly impossible.
But day by day, I did what any human being can do in the face of a global crisis: I woke up, kissed my girlfriend, and got back to work on what I could control. I chose not to live in fear because more than anything, there’s still plenty to be thankful for despite the hardships.
Overall, living in fear only makes things worse, and if you’re looking for your own silver lining in the COVID clouds, here are a few things to consider:
Negative Thinking is a Black Hole
To start, you have to understand that negative thinking is a black hole that only spits out more negativity on the other side.
For example, with constant negative self-talk or negative thinking, research shows that other bad habits begin to form, such as…
- Limited thinking that caps your ability to achieve something
- The idea of being perfect and stressing over the results of an outcome
- Feeling depressed and filling your psyche with self-doubt
- Poor relationships with others as a result of negative thinking and a lack of communication
There’s a famous Chinese proverb that puts it simply:
Be careful of your thoughts, for your thoughts become your words. Be careful of your words, for your words become your actions. Be careful of your actions, for your actions become your habits. Be careful of your habits, for your habits become your character. Be careful of your character, for your character becomes your destiny.
Of course, everyone is entitled to the occasional bad day at home, but you can’t let those feelings take over who you are and what you want to accomplish.
Focus On the Good In Your Life
So now that you understand how damaging negative thinking can be on your psyche, it’s time for you to focus on the good in your life.
This could represent lots of things—your personal health, your family, your hobbies, the fact that you can work from home. Whatever the case may be, and regardless of how happy it actually makes you, you can only focus your attention on what’s going right with your life.
As for me, I immediately started to dive into my hobbies. With work slowing down due to clients shifting their budgets toward other departments, I spent more time working on the book that I’ve been writing throughout the year. I dedicated every morning to write a new poem. At night, after my work was finished, I played guitar and learned some new songs that I’ve been meaning to pick up.
Yes, my income had taken a hit. Yes, I was confined to being stuck inside for most of the day, but the time at home presented an opportunity to reconnect with my creative side. My girlfriend and I cooked more meals together at home. I called my family members that I neglected to chat with over the past few months. These are all things that I have complete control over—my reactions to the COVID-19 pandemic and how I spend my time preparing for the future.
I encourage you to take stock of the good things in your life and lean into those when the times get tough.
Fiverr Can Help You Pass the Time
The cool thing about Fiverr is that it’s always here as a reliable platform to promote your services and help you pass the time.
For the most part, a lot of my clients had to divert their funding away from content, but I didn’t worry. Instead, I used the time to revamp my Fiverr profile and focus entirely on promoting gig packages to new clients in a variety of fields. And within just a few days, I was able to gain enough new clients to maintain my freelance success until my previous ones were ready to get back to work.
That’s the beauty of working as a freelancer—you always have options to improve yourself and build your career. Fiverr is here to support you during these tough times, so get involved and stay positive!
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