Pandemic Pressure: It's Not Permanent

This is another week of full-time remote work, full-time remote learning with my five-year-old, and full-time round-the-clock motherhood and partner-hood. Multiple full-time jobs at once. Running from my son’s school calls to jumping on my conference calls, spending time teaching him how to read while trying to finish up an email, preparing (and often burning!) our meals and doing dishes in between meetings. I’ve been noticing moments throughout my days when I need to stop just to breathe.

During one of these wild days, I sensed a tightness in my chest that I had never experienced before. Then I realized that it was recurring. Pandemic pressure. I realized that I had been reacting and even hyper-reacting to my circumstances. Like my morning hardboiled eggs bubbling around in a rolling boil; I was bubbling over in exasperation and combusting regularly at the expense of having peace in my heart, in my home, and in my family. Why? Because this level of pressure has been going on for way too long. Too many days and nights sewn together into what feels like one endless eternity of multi-tasking exhaustion.

This is not sustainable, I thought to myself. And then the light bulb realization came on…of course it’s not sustainable, it’s not meant to be! I was reminded of one of Martin Seligman’s 3 P’s of seeing the world that can determine one’s level of resilience: Permanence. Permanence is thinking a bad situation will last forever. Those of us who remember that obstacles are temporary are better able to accept the situation, adapt, endure, and bounce back. There is a certainty and trust in the existence of a light at the end of the tunnel, which helps provide the strength and faith to keep going and keep moving forward toward the light.

This pressure is not permanent. This challenge will not last forever. What a relief and comfort it is to know that the light will shine and that it is shining even now if I choose to see it through the pressure. What is your pressure point? Are you aware of its impermanence? Keep pushing through the pressure; trust that it’s temporary.