Enervate /ɪˈnəːvət/
adjective 1. lacking in energy or vitality.
October 17, 2019. A day that marked the change in all our lives. Politics aside, one fact is clear: our lives aren’t the same anymore. In the past four chapters, I have emphasized the need to create consistency, raise food consciousness, and fight through dips. I never thought my preaching would be put to the test this soon and to this extent.
November 1, 2019. It was a major challenge. My routine was heavily disrupted to near extinction, my dietary consciousness was in comatose, and I was in a dip that felt like a never-ending free fall. My energy was depleted and snapping out of it was strenuous; I regressed for a week. During that week, books and TV shows were my only source of entertainment. The grim reality of a dip of this weight is the illusion of an infinite dark tunnel with no exit in sight. Recovering was not easy. A week stretched to two.
November 14, 2019. After days of self-reflection, reading, and trying to understand, I finally saw a glimmer of light that resembled the beginning of an end to this tunnel. At that point I had been away from the gym for a whole month, the longest I have consecutively skipped the past two years. It was time to gain back control.
“Except our own thoughts, there is nothing absolutely in our power”
— René Descartes
It is crucial to understanding that in dire times, our livelihoods are in great danger. In times like these, things are changing fast and most of what is happening is outside our control. We feel we’re left with two choices: fight a losing battle with change or let change control your lives. We know too well that neither choice is good. The best choice is a more avoided, proactive, scary one: accept change, then adjust and adapt to it accordingly.
November 21, 2019. At that point, I saw I can’t force my current lifestyle into the new reality I was experiencing. I also realized that letting go completely of my routine was going to throw me into an abyss. I had to adjust and adapt: constantly check roads and gym availability, cook more often, loosen up on comfort food, place my job as a priority above all. Breaking down the crisis we are going through into smaller, more personal pieces helped me see more clearly; it helped me create certainty in the uncertain.
December 1, 2019. Life, unfortunately — yet, fortunately — is not just rainbows and butterflies. It’s possible many of you who read my words hope to see me reach a “lived happily ever after” ending with my narrative; possibly to see hope for your own. Life can never be just happiness, but we can learn to make the best out of it. At the end of the day, if we don’t suffer, how else will we learn to appreciate the good?
If you would like to practice finding certainty in the uncertain, follow my BFF method:
Break down the problem. When your personal well-being is at risk due to events such as economic turmoil, civil strife, or political instability, we might slip into a feeling of helplessness. By breaking down the problem into smaller ones, it makes it easier to see things more clearly.
Find what is most stable. Job, exercise, a hobby, chores. Those are some of many examples where you more-or-less have better control over. Once you find what is most stable in your life, make sure to put effort to keep it stable. That will be your backstop.
Focus on daily accomplishments rather than long-term achievements. In uncertain times, long-term planning could be anxiety-provoking. Not being able to predict the future of major events only makes an already stressful task more wearing. Focus on goals that require less effort and time.
