Put On Your Pants
Mental Health,  The Kitchen Sink

In Times Of Uncertainty, Put On Your Pants!

In times of uncertainty, routines can offer a comforting anchor to gain some semblance of balance and normalcy.

Days in isolation can add up to feeling a bit like the movie Groundhog Day; each day appearing to be a repeat of yesterday. It can be hard to keep track of the steady march of time and our sense of “purpose” can be set adrift.

On days like that – when we sort of ask ourselves why bother putting on our pants – WE MUST PUT ON OUR PANTS.

We must muster the energy to take the shower, make the bed, and put on the pants. If putting on pants is the only routine you have some days, fine. If putting on pants doesn’t happen until noon… mmm… okay, also fine. If putting on pants doesn’t happen until 2 hours before bed, and you are simply changing out of one pair of pajama pants to put on a different pair of pajama pants, I’m afraid that doesn’t count.

Sometimes, all we can do is put on our pants.

It’s usually this time of the year that I reflect on the goals and wishes I had put down in January and February. I consider my successes and my failures and reassess what to do going forward. Generally speaking, it ends up being that I throw out most everything, or restart a few things and trade a few other routines for something else. But it’s rarely happened that everything has been tossed aside due to some global crisis… okay. If I’m being honest, that’s never happened!

Typically I’m the only one to blame for breaking a good habit, not sticking with a routine (or forgetting to put on pants) but I really want to take advantage of this opportunity right now to blame a genuine culprit! How often do we get a chance to have a bona fide scapegoat that won’t care if we blame them?

COVID-19, I’m talking about you!

Yes, I’m sure that some of my routines were a bit wayward before all of this pandemic stuff entered stage right, but not all of it! Before everything hit the world stage back in December (yes, that’s when this all began folks) I was too-doling along and gaining momentum (creatively-speaking). I had writing dates with a fellow aspiring author, and I was getting more adventuresome with the paintbrush. My mindfulness sessions were on track and I was getting outside to walk every day. I was visiting my son’s classroom once a week, and making homemade meals 4 days out of 7 (which is pretty good for me considering how much I dislike cooking).

But all of that changed when COVID-19 began to spread through out the world. My bubble (which is already fairly limited) became smaller and smaller until there were days on end that I didn’t even leave the house (so then why bother with the pants, right). I think I sort of though things would blow over relatively quickly and I just needed to wait it out. I think I was also sort of in denial and didn’t want to face what I had to give up. So I approached it sort of like sick days… no cleaning, no getting dressed, meals were sparse at best, but all of that got really old really fast.

I was tired of blaming COVID-19!

It doesn’t care. It won’t say “sorry for disrupting everyone’s lives.” No, it doesn’t give a hooey, and so I had to stop wallowing. I had to stop hoping that something would happen while I laid around and did nothing.

So I came up with a new plan. A spring-cleaning sort of plan. I reassessed my goals from the beginning of the year and said to myself, “You know what Kate, you can still accomplish something! Modify your approach and you’ll be on your way again.”

Sometimes setting up routines and small goals can be just what you need to get a fresh perspective (and get your pants on in the morning). It doesn’t have to be large sweeping goals, and by all means avoid any and ALL goals related to food or body image!

It can be goals like, “make the bed before 9AM,” which would also make you get out of bed before 9AM by the way. Or you could decide to, “do some Yoga with a YouTube video three times a week.” It could even be as silly as, “smile at yourself in the mirror once a day.”

Choosing one anchor routine or habit that is simple, reasonable to achieve, and joyful, can be what helps you feel grounded and at peace with our current situation. Just don’t forget to schedule it so it’s more likely to happen.

Just because we’re all hulled up in our houses (thanks to those who are graciously leaving their houses to work for all of us), doesn’t mean we need to become one-with-our-houses. Don’t become part of your couch or bed, and for Pete’s sake, put on some pants!

Trust me when I say “this too shall pass.

And when it does, we will all come back together a little bit kinder, a little more cautious, and a lot more grateful. And when that time comes, I’m pretty sure you’ll want to be wearing pants.


Seeking the profound? Subscribe for weekly invitations to slow down and dig deep.

5 Comments

Share your thoughts here

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.