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It is our last blog regarding self-quarantine tips. I hope those blog posts helped you in any way.
The Coronavirus situation seems to become better little by little. Hopefully, we can go out and enjoy outdoor life and social connection soon!
In the meantime, let’s stay home and stay safe.
We’ve discussed “acknowledging” and “validating” in the last two blog posts. In there, we went through the value of acknowledging your thoughts and feelings without judging they are good or bad. Then validating the thoughts and feelings by saying “It’s understandable to think/feel that way”.
As my last blog of this series, I’d like to talk about reframing.
Day 6: REFRAMING
We can see things differently by “reframing” words, phrases, and sentences. It’s similar to say “The glass is half-empty” or “The glass is half-full”. It is talking about the same thing, but the point of view is different. And so is the way of expressing the situation. This is reframing.
For example, if you were in a situation where you can’t go out to see your friends but you gain your family time. Then you can focus on what you’ve gained instead of what you’ve lost.
Another example is instead of saying “I can’t see my friends”, you can reframe the sentence by saying “I choose not to see my friends now. Because I care about other people”. If you don’t care about others and don’t want to show the respect of the social rules, you ARE ABLE to visit your friends (it’s another story if your friend welcomes you though). But do you feel differently when you say “I choose not to see my friends”? Don’t you feel YOU are controlling your life? The situation is the same. You don’t see your friends. However, you probably feel differently.
How about “I can’t work”. I know a lot of people have lost their jobs. It hits especially hard on people who work as an individual contractor and a freelancer. Not getting work is not their choice. That is so true, but how about “It’s not an ideal situation but I am supporting people and helping people by staying home”?
Again, it is OK to be frustrated and/or don’t want to accept reality. If you feel you are stuck and no other choice, that’s totally normal in this circumstance. If you are angry and anxious, it is very understandable. You don’t have to force yourself to feel better. But just remember you have a choice to feel differently when you want to.
“The night is long that never finds the day”
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If you are interested in talking about your expat life, concerns, challenges, and opportunities, please book a FREE session from here → https://www.interculturalcandc.com/book-online
I would love to hear your story.
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