by Insha Rasool

Fear, misfortune, indignation, sorrow, staggering loss, professional loss, personal loss, and despair are all too common in today’s Covid world. We seem to be not only beaten but also destroyed by the coronavirus; we are not only helpless but also hopeless. The number of cases is recorded in crores, and the number of deaths is recorded in lakhs.

I didn’t want to boast but I have always been a healthy, hardworking, vibrant woman who had loved life right up until Covid-19 came in a way. Coronavirus affected me deeply, I couldn’t imagine going through the endless lockdown with the threat of Covid-19. I am working as a Research Scholar and I was having lots of stuff to do but was unable to concentrate. So, I took a few days (mostly two weeks) off to privately deal with my threat, fear of covid-19 going to sabotage all my efforts by swapping with negativity. I knew I couldn’t be effective unless I was able to productively deal with my own feelings. It wasn’t stress-free but I worked hard to get myself back on track. As a psychology student, I knew “Time doesn’t heal anything; it is how we deal with that time that determines the speed at which we heal”. I understood that I was vacillating between the negative and positive thoughts. So I allowed myself to deal with this threat and I started to figure out a solution.

I sat at the table contemplating how unfair life had become as a result of this invisible virus, how difficult it would be, and how much I wished things were different. Updates to coronaviruses are like heavyweights that slow us down, exhaust us and frustrate us. We don’t know when the Corona War will be over.

After hours of contemplation, I discovered that the best way to combat and defend ourselves is to replace despair and loss with gratitude and to be mentally powerful. Just then when I’d think I was getting better, I’d turn another corner to find overwhelming sadness waiting for me. Sadness is an emotionally, mentally, and physically exhausting process. It was all about the uprising graph of covid-19 deaths in the valley, it was like unannounced visits and a self-perpetuating cycle that undermines my happiness, my strength, my wisdom, my joy, etc. I start playing the “poor me” card and start to tell woe-is-me tales in order to commiserate. The whole peace process of my mind, body, and soul was in jeopardy. Everyone outside was fighting with Corona but Inside I was fighting with the terror of Corona. But then a miracle happens and I do realize that “You have the power to choose, choose life, choose love, and choose happiness.” I began to think from the standpoint of happiness, willpower, and principles of life and not from the standpoint of fear, terror. I find out what it is that heals me. Feeling pity for me won’t move any closer to a solution. I realize that the correct directions given to my mind will heal my mind, body, and soul. I was becoming the victim of circumstances like a passenger in my own life rather than a driver. So I choose to be the driver of my life. And I realized there is a goldmine within me from which I can extract everything I need to live life.  Stop over-emphasising bad things instead look into good things- what is good in you and what is good in others. Think good and good follows, think evil and evil follows, you are what you think all day long.

We have within us a Hidden Power, a power so remarkable that it can literally renovate our life once we learn how to use it. That power is – TO BE MENTALLY STRONG. Over 90% of life depends upon “How Mentally Strong We are”-so men and women who fail to make themselves mentally strong and use this marvelous power within very narrow limits are always in a self-sabotaging phase of life. We are the sum total of our own thoughts. We can keep from entertaining negative thoughts and imagery. The way to get rid of darkness is with light; the way to overcome cold is with heat; the way to overcome the negative thoughts is to substitute the good thoughts. Be mentally strong means- in touch with infinite life and boundless wisdom, and its impulses and ideas are always life ward. It is our mental strength that will open the locked doors of terror and let us feel conquered over that terror. Contemporarily we are all in terror of Covid-19. I too was over the edge due to mood swings, blockings, incarcerations, crushed and above all, I was going mentally ill, depression was taking place in my life but fortunately, I got my Hidden power- TO BE MENTALLY STRONG. I call it hidden power because this is the gateway of positivity.

At last but not least don’t get fooled into thinking that your anxiety level should be the factor that helps you make the final decision about risk. Your feelings may be very unreliable. The more frustrated you feel the less logical your thoughts will be. Increase your rational thoughts about the risk you are facing to balance out your emotional reaction, which ultimately leads to your mental strength. And explore that within you is a goldmine from which you can extract everything u need to live life gloriously, joyously, and abundantly. I reached the conclusion that we may not control all the events that happen to us, but we can decide not to be reduced by them. When we learn to let go of the details we can’t control, the amount of time and energy we will be able to devote to the things we can control will give us the ability to accomplish incredible feats. Worrying about things outside of our control wastes mental energy. One should have a bi-locus of control i.e willing to examine beliefs about what truly can control and what can’t. You have power over your mind- not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength- know that you can remake yourself by giving a new blueprint to your mind and don’t focus on things you can’t control- to be mentally strong. When you focus on what’s wrong with the world, without looking at how you can control your attitude and behaviour, you’ll find yourself stuck. Instead of wasting energy trying to prevent a storm, focus on how you can prepare for it.

Begin now, today, let explore your hidden powers!

Being a victim only fuelled my frustration and wasted my time; energy and it can lead to anger, resentment, loneliness, and other feelings that is a recipe of more negative thought. So I choose to be a survivor. So, prove to yourself the amazing way it can help you.

About the Author:

Insha Rasool, Works as a Research Scholar in the Department of Education at the University of Kashmir.