Are you and your family struggling under ever-increasing emotional, mental, and financial pressure caused by government-imposed restrictions and continued lockdowns? You’re not alone. The ongoing inconsistency and uncertainty have unsettled family life like nothing before.
As parents, we try to be positive and productive when we’re locked up. We do our best with home schooling and in keeping the kids occupied. But it’s tough! Nerves are frayed, tempers flare and there just doesn’t seem to be enough space in the house to get away from each other. But if we teak a deep breath and put on our creative thinking caps, we can formulate new ways to not just survive lockdowns, but to thrive as a family unit.
If we use this time to master our mindset, we can finally conquer those bad habits, individually and collectively and instil new ones. In fact, we can unlock capabilities that we never thought we had. The only way to overcome the present frustration and fear is to shift our perspective. . . to Face Everything And Rise!
So, here are 4 simple ways you can thrive during lockdown and create life-enhancing habits as a family.
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Family Boot Camp
Plan your own family boot camp. Everyone gets to nominate their favourite and not-so-favourite exercise which becomes part of the exercise regime. These exercises must be easy enough for everyone to do within your restricted setting. Think outside the box. Sitting and standing from a chair 20 times is simple, yet when executed within a specified time frame can certainly get the heart pumping.
Once agreement is reached on your Boot Camp plan, make it fun. Every morning, all members of the family must turn up in their training gear for Boot Camp. Keep a record of individual achievement and at the end of the week, have your own Award Ceremony with special surprise prizes. With enough incentives, persistence, and encouragement, you’ll soon find the whole family feeling happier, fitter and more tolerant.
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Creative Cooking and Baking
There’s something about cooking a warm meal at home that just makes our hearts fuzzy and our tummies warm. It connects us to our creativity and gives our brains the Feel-Good Factor they love. Not only that but we also get to eat and enjoy our accomplishment at the end.
Get the kids in on the act and choose recipes that aren’t too complicated. You’re not auditioning for Master Chef, so don’t set yourself up for failure.
It could be as simple as:
- A soup
- A form of pasta (maybe making the pasta from scratch)
- Developing your own nachos recipe
- Baking an apple pie. A family favourite 😊
Remember, this is supposed to be fun. Home cooking and baking are wonderful ways to share love with your family. The act of sitting round the dinner table, enjoying the fruits of your labour, could be the start of a new phase of communication, understanding and good times in your family.
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Meditating
When many people hear the word meditation, they conjure up images of sitting cross-legged, humming mantras, and trying to clear their minds of all thought. But meditation doesn’t have to be like that. In fact, many people meditate when exercising except they don’t realise that in the movement their mind is still. Athletes call it being in the zone.
During times of heightened stress, meditation brings great reward. Much like exercise, it feels better after we do it, and the more we practice, even if only for ten to fifteen minutes a day, the more we appreciate how this simple exercise enriches our life. Meditation is a haven whenever we need to hit the reset button mentally, emotionally, and physically. It calibrates our energy and brain, improving our overall heath and well-being.
Play some relaxing music and sit quietly as a family. Focus on stillness and peace. Share things you are grateful for while remaining calm and serene. This simple start to your practice offers everyone the opportunity to rest and release stress. Teaching your children the value of peace is one of the greatest gifts you can share with them. And lockdown is the perfect opportunity to incorporate daily stillness into everyone’s routine.
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Be the Star
Unleash your children’s creativity through performance. Pretend to be a production company planning a show. Allocate roles of director, producer, writers, actors, designers etc and set everyone to work on their responsibility. Call production meetings and discuss challenges and outcomes. Aside from this being enjoyable, it also teaches your children important life lessons around leadership, responsibility, creativity and achieving outcomes. Then once the production is ready, stage the performance and critique. Kids usually love to prance and parade, so give them the opportunity in a structured, learning environment.
These 4 simple ways to thrive in lockdown are guaranteed to improve your family’s ability to cope and live more harmoniously. And my #1 tip is to TURN OFF mainstream media! Don’t buy into the fear campaigns. Use common sense, honour your health, and know that you, and your children have the capacity to be more than you ever thought possible.
If you’d like help to thrive during lockdown, visit https://mastermindset.com.au/master-mindset-coaching/