surviving

It’s no secret financial problems are on the rise;  if businesses aren’t shutting down they’ll be laying off to keep them afloat.  Not to mention, the IRS being backed up forcing you to wait on stimulus checks, tax returns, even receiving state unemployment becomes an impossible task.  I myself am a bartender, this uncertainty of income has been looming over me since day one of shut down.  With the downtime I’ve been forced into I’ve come up with a few tricks I’d like to share to help compartmentalize and deal with this nightmarish stress.

Roll With the Punches

If you’re part of the population that’s been laid off or your business has closed you’ve probably had to apply for unemployment, grants, or loans. These are never a certain answer to our financial problems, they may fall through or deny you all together. That waiting period to find out if you qualify for any of these support systems can hellish. Instinctually you tell yourself that you’ll be accepted and the money will be coming any day now, though in the back of your mind, the “what if” factor lingers. Suppressing the “what if” factor can only make stress levels raise in negative ways. Analyzing and accepting the “what if” can be tough but healthy. Let’s say there is no money coming your way whatsoever. What ever is in your savings is all you have, it may not even be enough to cover your next mortgage or rent bill. This would panic any ordinary person, if you grasp the worst case scenario and accept it you won’t be caught off guard, you’ll be mentally prepared for it and know how to “roll with the punches”. 

You Only Have Two Hands

When I first started behind the bar, I could get flustered pretty quickly. When it got busy all eyes were on you, people impatiently waiting for drinks, food, or a check, as well as finding time to clean and restock. That can be a bit overwhelming when you have three rows of people across the bar. My mentor taught me a saying that helped me keep my head straight, “you only have two hands.”  I can’t tell you how many times I repeat that saying to myself on and off the job. So simple, for some reason it actually made the job a lot more enjoyable and me a better worker. If you’re doing everything in your power and are able to show what you’ve done, through applications, communications, or anything regarding your efforts dealing with financial support. If that’s the case, you shouldn’t have anything to worry about when you deal with the banks or landlords. They are in the same world we’re living in right now there’s only so much in our power. More than likely this sky rocketing real estate market might finally come  down to an affordable margin after all of this.

Enjoy The Little Things

Now that you’ve stopped panicking since the last paragraph you have a bit more time on your hands. This whole quarantine business has us sucking in a lot of recycled air, meanwhile outside the pollution levels are at an all-time low. Try going for a small 30 minutes to an hour walk, by yourself, without your phone (unless you live in a bad neighborhood). Really take your time, don’t have a destination in mind, just wander, explore, ding dong ditch a house, people watch, enjoy the clean air, take that extra second to enjoy how calm everything is for once. This quarantine can be just as much of a blessing as it is an inconvenience. Now more than ever we can really “enjoy the little things”. When you’re home cooking dinner or meal prepping throw on some tunes. At some point your jam will come on, drop whatever you’re doing and dance your ass off, that’s right, go full on Risky Business or if you got the right tights and leggings you can have yourself a nice Flashdance moment. Maybe build an awesome pillow/blanket fort, camp out in the backyard, teach your dog how to fetch you a beer from the fridge, more than anything its okay to be happy right now.
Everything is TemporaryHowever the outcome of any situation may be, it’s good to remember “you’re still alive” if you’re still breathing you’ll be just fine. Things can only get so bad and when they do it won’t last, literally “everything is temporary.” I hope this came to some use, thanks for reading. 

Happy Trails.