This is one of the most uncomfortable post I’ve ever written. Buckle up.

I am thriving during quarantine.

That sentence is true, but it fills me with embarrassment, shame, and guilt. I am literally nauseated as I write it.

A loud voice in my head is screaming “This is inappropriate to talk about.”

“You’ll make people feel bad.”

“It’s not okay to be okay when others aren’t okay.”

In the past four(ish) months, I’ve had many hard moments and a lot of tough feelings, but overall, I have thrived.

“But,” you’ll say. “You’re privileged!”

Yes! And I know many people with privilege who aren’t thriving, and many without it who are.

“But,” you’ll say. “You don’t have kids!”

Yes! And I know many people without kids who aren’t thriving, and many with kids who are.

“But,” you’ll say. “You run your own business!”

Yes! And I know many fellow business owners who aren’t thriving, and many without businesses who are.

“But,” you’ll say. “You have savings!”

Yes! And I know many people with savings who aren’t thriving, and many without savings who are.

“But,” you’ll say. “You don’t have a pre-existing mental health illness!”

Yes! And I know many people without mental health challenges who aren’t thriving, and many with mental health challenges who are.

“But,” you’ll say. “You’re not extremely extroverted!”

Yes! And I know many introverts who aren’t thriving, and many extroverts who are.

…

My point is that we focus so much on how our circumstances are different from other people’s, that we fail to see what we might be able to learn from them.

What if you asked people what’s working for them? Can you imagine what you’d learn?

Here is my hope: That all of us—regardless of where we are emotionally right now—put down our guilt, shame, and embarrassment, and pick up curiosity and connection instead.

Sending you many good thoughts,

Cristina

P.S. I 1000% believe it’s also okay to not be okay right now. In my world, however, that is the prominent narrative, which is why I wanted to share the other side. I support you wherever you are ❤️

In an upcoming post, I’ll be sharing some of my methods for managing quarantine. (One of those methods is using the Monday Hour One time blocking process, which I’ll be teaching to you all in the upcoming Monday Hour One workshops.)

As with all of my content, take what’s helpful and doable for you, leave the rest.