The world is facing challenging times. The coronavirus pandemic has affected our global society in a way not seen since perhaps as far back as World War II.
As cities around the US follow in the footsteps of European and Asian countries, businesses are shutting down, events are canceled, and people are being asked to stay in their homes to control the spread of disease.
It’s undeniably scary but as health care leaders have said,
“If you’re going to spread anything, spread help, compassion, and humor.”
Though it’s hard to find a silver lining in the time of coronavirus, if there is one, it’s this: we all get to reboot.
Life moves insanely fast. The number of things we forget to do because we were so busy doing something else seems to increase by the day. Between going to work, running errands, getting exercise, taking care of kids, keeping your home clean, hanging out with friends, chasing your dreams, and everything else in your life, chances are your plate is overflowing into a mess on the table cloth.
I tell actors they should always be hustling, but that doesn’t mean it’s not important to take a well-earned break. You always feel better after taking a deep breath, right?
These weeks of self-quarantine are just that:
A long, deep breath.
Treat this as an opportunity to reset and re-evaluate your life. Take a personal inventory and note what you need more of and what you need to cut out.
Maybe you want to do more crunches. Maybe you want to eliminate self-destructive thinking. When you’re not surrounded by your usual obligations, the only person you have to worry about is you (and your loved ones).
When you do feel ready to put work into your career, use this time to look at the big picture. Ask yourself:
Where are you going?
Take a close look at what you’ve been doing and change whatever isn’t serving you. Come up with a strategy to hit the ground running when the town opens back up.
Finally, use this as an opportunity to grow and enrich yourself. You can’t knock on doors to get auditions or meetings, but you can still grow as a person and an artist.
- Catch up on shows and films
- Do a personal brand audit (I recommend using LA Media Works to help with this)
- Practice your craft from home
- Read books that you’ve been meaning to read
- Start a new hobby
- Strengthen your relationships (FaceTime is a magical invention)
When life returns to normal, you’ll be out of time before you know it.
This downtime can be viewed as a cloud or a silver lining. Ups and downs are part of the equation, no matter what, but allowing ourselves to be consumed by our doomsayer Twitter feeds and dire news updates won’t help us in the long run.
If we take this time to work on ourselves and reaffirm our connections as a global community, this pernicious virus doesn’t beat us. On the contrary, it merely serves as the reminder we needed to take stock and help each other. That this is what makes life worth living.
Here’s to looking ahead to light at the end of the tunnel starting to prepare now to emerge with new vigor!
Find the positive because it is there. Just my two cents.
And to help lighten the mood, I made this Quarantine playlist with titles that seem tailor-made for this crazy time we’re in. Rest, laugh, and stay healthy.
