There’s no doubt COVID-19 has heavily impacted the entire world. At cred, whether it’s adapting to our new virtual work environments, canceling events, postponing conferences, or simply figuring out how to bring food to our dinner tables, we’re finding ourselves reconfiguring our priorities and deciding how we want to respond. Despite our differing circumstances, we’re all figuring out how to keep our feet on the ground with this new reality.

In a recent TED Connects discussion on “How to be your best self in times of crisis,” Harvard Medical School psychologist Susan David shares how to build resilience, courage and joy in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. We challenge you to practice these four steps as you work remotely or tackle any new projects!

1. Be present with your emotions.

Regardless of the goals, tasks, and responsibilities you have, it’s important to fully acknowledge what you’re feeling in the heat of the moment. Rather than brushing it aside as a negative emotion, accept it for what it really is. Susan suggests tackling this step like looking at another person in a conversation—acknowledge their presence. Treat it like a greeting, and bring it into full being.

In our latest webinar with Audira Labs CEO Stephen Kohler, he noted you must allow yourself to grieve in order to adapt to the difficult situations rapidly revolving around you.

2. Step into the helicopter, figure out how to fly it, and take control of it.

“Between stimulus and response, there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.” —Viktor Frankl

Once you recognize what you’re feeling is real, use that as an opportunity to self-reflect. Through self-reflection, you can figure out the next steps in choosing how you want to react. Plan out the next steps by asking yourself this question: what small “tweaks” can I make to help me get past this?

3. Understand your “why.”

Once you’ve figured out the changes you want to make, start asking yourself: what does this tell me about what I currently value? By reassessing and understanding your main goal, this should drop the pressure off your shoulders and help you figure out what specific changes you want to make. Your “why” will fuel you like gas fueling a car.

4. Know when it’s time to move forward.

Now that you have a game plan and reassessed your values, it’s all a matter of applying these changes to your mindset. Is this action bringing you closer to the person you want to be? Make shifts in your habits and your ways of thinking to evolve your behavior and accomplish your goals.

Rather than denying our new reality or leaving underlying emotions in a dark corner, embrace these sudden changes in a positive, healthy manner so that it helps you become professionally and emotionally adaptable. The next time you’re feeling these uncomfortable emotions, ask yourself these questions:

“Are these choices helping me deal with this pandemic in a more healthy manner?”
“Is this helping me become the person I want to be?”
“Is this serving me?”
“Is this serving my teammates, my friends, my family, and my networks around me?”

If all 4 answers are ‘yes’, then you’re on the right step from transforming your self-care into your self-flair.

What are some questions you ask yourself? What methods do you use to practice self-compassion, and how have they helped you bring a better version of you into your workspace? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

This post was written by cred intern Phuong Le.