Coronavirus Disrupts Daily Life

What a strange time to be alive. Here in Colorado, Governor Jared Polis announced a 30-day closure of dine-in restaurants, movie theaters, and gyms. K-12 schools are on an extended spring break (Need some free resources for keeping the kids busy and learning?), and many universities have moved fully online for the remainder of the semester. Large events have been canceled worldwide, including our Muay Thai seminars and our beloved in-house BJJ tournament. The news is pretty scary, and the internet is full of misinformation, good information, and jokes about hoarding toilet paper.

With the Easton academies closed, we can’t hang out in our second home for a while… So what is a big, tight-knit community of martial artists to do? I think Professor Eliot said it best:

“This is what martial arts teaches us. I know what it physically teaches us is how to punch and kick, do armbars and chokes, berimbolos and all this other cool stuff. But what it really teaches us is how to be in a bad spot. How to stay calm and keep fighting … That is what we’re counting on–the lessons that we’ve learned through the martial arts that we teach.”

He goes on to give some great advice:

“Stay happy. Take care of each other. Lean in on each other during some difficult times … This is not a reason to not find your power. This is not a reason to not still be great. This is just a little setback. This is just a little bump in the road for all of us.”

Let’s Do Something Great

This is indeed a time to put our mental training to the test. And it’s a time to turn lemons into lemonade. Most of us are cooped up in the house, practicing social distancing from strangers and friends alike. It would be pretty easy to mope around, read all the doomsday articles, or binge-watch everything on Netflix. But it would feel a lot better to accomplish something cool. Something we can look back on in a few months as time well spent.

So let’s get on some Quarantine Quests! (I like alliteration. I hope you do, too.) What have you been putting off, or not had time for the last couple of months? How are you doing on that New Year’s resolution? Right now is the time to grind.

Take Time for You

The Coronavirus outbreak has changed the pace of our modern world. So let’s capitalize on it! Find ways to use this extra time to fill your cup. If you’re having trouble deciding how to go about this, ask yourself: What would make you happy right now? What would make you feel fulfilled? Who do you want to be when you come out on the other side of this?

Jocko Willink said, “The only person you can control is you. So focus on making yourself who you want to be: Faster. Stronger. Smarter. More humble. Less ego.” In a time where the world feels uncertain and out of control, it can feel very grounding to take control of our own sphere of influence.

So whether your personal Quarantine Quest is to enjoy the extra time with your family, catch up on some reading, learn a new skill, or finish a project, you have an opportunity now to be very intentional about it. We’re all in the process of building new routines and new ways to go about our days. Where can you fit your goal into your daily schedule? How will you keep yourself accountable? What mini-goals are you setting for yourself to accomplish your bigger one?

My own goal is to build up a consistent meditation habit. It’s something I’ve been telling myself to do for a while, and this seems like a time when I could really commit to it and apply the skills. I’ve tried several guided meditation apps, and finally settled on Waking Up from Sam Harris. All of these apps have a free trial, and then most of them cost about $100 annually for full access. But with Waking Up, you can contact their team to get subscriber access for free if you are in a tight spot financially. Ten Percent Happier is also doing live guided meditations on weekdays.

Stay Active During Quarantine

Finally, the number one quarantine goal I can recommend to everyone is to stay active! Partly because we need to keep ourselves in shape so we can come back strong when the academy re-opens. But also for our mental health. Getting your heart pumping and your body moving is a great way to reduce the cortisol in your system and feel calmer and happier. To get started, you can check out all the free martial arts instructional videos we’re sharing online during the closure.

Keeping up on your training at home? We’d love to see and share! Tag our accounts on social media and use the hashtags #eastonathome and #eastonhomeschool.