Today marks the beginning of the fourth straight week of quarantining. But I have some good news. Last weekend was the first normal weekend in about a month and I’ll tell you what made it seem that way. A large part was due from the great weather all weekend from start to finish. There was no question that I had spring fever and was excited about the sun shining bright. My Saturday was great thanks to the 5 mile run I did in the morning and getting to catch up with my girlfriend in person. She has been isolated with her family for two weeks and it was nice to have some alone time between just me and her. Sunday was also a great day. It was another gorgeous day and I felt compelled to do some sort of activity outside so I went mountain biking with one of my close friends. It happened spur of the moment too, as many great things start. I have never been mountain biking like that before. During my childhood years, I nearly grew up on a bicycle. However, I had never been mountain biking in the woods going up steep rocky inclines and racing down hills riddled with rocks and roots sticking up from the ground while looking over an edge that would surely lead to serious injury had I fallen. Not to sound too deep, but in those moments when I was racing down a bumpy trail and a foot away from falling off the ledge, it felt normal. It didn’t feel like I was being quarantined for the last 4 weeks. The only thing on my mind during that moment was to focus on the task at hand and not fall. The experience of focusing on just one thing is so powerful. It’s so healthy for our brain. We get so caught up in our lives with meaningless mental baggage that lead us to having stress. Having one thing on our mind helps us take a break from all that stress. That’s why any type of intense physical activity is so good for us. It allows us to block out everything and focus on just one thing at a time.
Needless to say, the adrenaline was pumping during and after the experience. I was so exciting and felt great to have that feeling or normalcy again. It was great to get the endorphins pumping. It was great to scare myself a little bit. All these things are essential to us keeping our minds healthy. We need physical activity. We need to be scared from time to time. We need to overcome that fear. We need to try new things and stimulate other parts of our brain and body. All these things are so crucial and can lead to a happier and more positive mindset. During this quarantine, I challenge everyone to try something new. Hopefully that new things scares you just a little and hopefully you overcome it with flying colors. There is no better feeling than overcoming your fears while adding new experiences to your resume. More importantly, doing so will help you feel normal again during this time of isolation and craziness.
Dabbl 