Surviving & Thriving When The World Turns Upside Down

Dress: Me Made & Designed  |  Shoes: Thrifted (Old Navy)  |  Hat: Bought in Williamsburg

Dear Lovely reader, as I sat down to write this post, I felt myself hit a wall....I didn't know what to write about. It's so easy to go out and take pictures, but when it comes to writing a post, I often find myself torn.....do I write about fashion & style and explain my outfit or do I write about life? Writing about fashion and style is easy, but I sometimes feel inauthentic by avoiding the important topics. 

Like everyone in the world right now, you probably find yourself in a similar situation as me, stuck at home and all of your plans for the year flying out the window. Now, let me be clear on one thing, I am not complaining about the inordinate hours of time stuck at home, because home is one of my favorite places to be (where are all my Introverts at?). However, I thrive on predictability, plans, and a schedule, but with so much uncertainty in the world & social distancing in effect, life is a bit of a struggle right now, finding the balance between surviving and thriving. 

With extra time at home, I have found myself spending a LOT of time in my thoughts, reflecting on life, becoming more in tune with myself, and thinking about every little things that happens (this is both a good thing and a bad thing!). However, in the midst of sitting down to write today's post, I decided to go for authenticity and remind you that you are not the only one who feels stuck, uninspired, stressed, depressed, anxious, and uncertain during this time. 

We all find ourselves in a season of life that none of us have ever experienced before, much less a time in our world where we are all facing a situation that many of us have never dealt with. The struggle between surviving and thriving is REAL!!! Surviving might look like simply getting through your day, avoiding a panic attack, completing your to do list, actually getting dressed for the day, brushing your hair for the first time in 3 days, or maybe even just keeping a schedule. I think for so many of us right now, if you were to ask us how we are doing we might say "I'm hanging in there" or "I am just trying to survive"! In fact, I know I have giving that response to others and have heard it from many people more than once. In the midst of uncertainty we often resort to a state of survival and simply making it through this season SANE! However, in spite of our survival nature and mindset, I think we often loose so many opportunities to thrive in the midst of unplanned and uncertain season. 

My life really is in a state of "survival" right now, trying to figure out this new normal (you would think after 7 weeks I would have figured it out), but in the midst of it, I often loose sight of the opportunities I have to THRIVE! Any time we face unplanned situations, we are given an opportunity to GROW, and this season is no different! Maybe you are surviving (like me), but are you thriving? Are you making the most of this season to grow as a person and use this precious time to pursue things that will pour into your life? 

At the beginning of this year, if you asked me if there was one thing I could change about my life, I would have probably said "I wish I had more time" and lo and behold, who knew that this year would turn upside down so drastically and that the one thing I always often wished for would be granted. Now, I don't know what situation or season you find yourself in, maybe for you, everything that is going on in the world actually means you have less time....I know we all find ourselves in different places. However, I do think if anything, we have been given the time to re-prioritize our lives, refocus our energies, create new schedules, or work on things we had often put aside. 

In this season, while I have still been putting in time as a teacher (via online learning) I have also found myself with extra time in my schedule to work on projects I had so often put aside due to lack of time. While life might seem like survival many days, I have been trying to develop a mindset of THRIVING! Thriving will most likely look different for all of us, but thriving has the same outcome in all of our lives, thriving means developing a positive outlook in spite of uncertainty and using every opportunity to grow as a person, despite the hard days. 

Thriving might mean pursuing your passions you had long abandoned. Thriving might mean learning more about yourself and getting in touch with your emotions and taking time for self care. Thriving might mean you give yourself the freedom to dream the dreams you once thought were impossible? Thriving might simply look like creating a schedule for your life. Maybe thriving is continuing to build relationships with others around you, or getting outside of your comfort zone to do something new? 

Thriving looks different for us all, but it is vitally IMPORTANT to develop a mindset that allows us to make the most of every opportunity & approach this uncertain and unprecedented time in our lives and world with a renewed outlook and optimism. When we are thriving, we are automatically surviving, but if our only goal is to survive, are we giving ourselves the space to thrive? 

This post is as much a pep talk for myself, as it is an encouragement to you, in reminding you that we are all in this together, and we can all thrive together, in the midst of our automatic survival mode. 

What has been the hardest part of Social Distancing for you?

Where do you find yourself, are you surviving or thriving?

- Madison