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Isolation is a concept that British sailor Alex
Thomson is all too familiar with. When Thomson sails solo, non-stop
around the world in the Vendée Globe, he must solve problems,
overcome challenges and remain mentally strong all without the
support of anyone else around him. Using that experience, here Alex shares
his advice on staying positive, even in the most challenging of
times. |
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1.Train your mind to make the distinction between loneliness
and isolation. Are you isolated at home? Yes. But are you lonely? No.
You can’t possibly be lonely because you have loved ones at the end
of the phone, thinking of you. It’s sometimes easier when we’re able
to separate those two emotions. |
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2.To help make this period more manageable, try to
view it as a privilege, a rare chance to spend uninterrupted time
with those closest to you, which you probably won’t ever have again. |
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3.It’s important to introduce routine. But
remember, these are exceptional circumstances and achieving
everything we normally would in a day is not going to be possible. So
don’t set yourself up to fail. |
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4.Give yourself realistic goals each day, and work
towards those. If you start to feel overwhelmed, change them, make
them smaller. Every time you achieve one, you’ll feel a little bit
better. |
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5.When you start to feel overwhelmed, transfer
your focus away from whatever it is that you’re looking at – such as the
TV or computer – and switch to a peripheral focus. Take a step back
and alter your perspective. This can help to de-emotionalise the
moment. |
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6.When I race alone in the Vendée Globe, I try to
persuade myself that 3 months is not a long time. Try to do the same.
Although we might not know when social distancing will end, most of
us would not consider a matter of weeks or months a considerably long
time. |
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7.If you don’t manage to achieve everything you
wanted to in a day, or you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, try not
to be too hard on yourself. Take each day as it comes and slowly
things will start to get easier. |
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8.Happy people perform better. And – although it
may sound very simple – the easiest way to feel happy is to look happy.
So even when times are tough, try to smile. And you may just find
some sense of happiness in that moment. |
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