I’ve been having brain fog so long and so consistently I looked around for an article about it and found “How to Lift

Pandemic Brain Fog” by Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital, they say the prolonged uncertainty causes a lot of stress that together with change in routine due to disruptions lead to a more sedentary life style and worse nutrition. That’s true for me, luckily we didn’t suffer anything major like a death of anyone not already the expected age (my grandpa did pass, but at 101 I wouldn’t call it a tragedy, just a loss), no one lost a job. But we suffered 1000 minor disruptions, the closure where we did school Friday at the science center, the closure of the beaches we went to Wednesday, the closure of our martial art’s school, the change of where we lived, the change of where we ate, a million little tiny things that don’t seem like enough to justify me being so thrown off, but still do result in me actually being thrown off.

Things are not all bad, my daughter’s school is set to open for her entry to kindergarten in Fall, I’ve been exercising for a few weeks, I’ve been drinking water and taking my daughter to therapy, but we have been eating like crap for some time and I sure do feel less well than normal.

So I’m trying to shake it off, but water, exercise and gardening have by all means been not nearly enough for me to feel well again.

So here’s the tips from the article:

Exercise the brain by trying new hobbies and engaging in mentally stimulating activities, such as doing puzzles, learning a new language, reading, and playing board and card games. ✔️

Engage in healthy, mood-elevating activities each day, such as listening to music, going for a walk, taking a soothing bath, calling a good friend or cuddling with a pet. ✔️

Practice mindfulness to help be in the present moment and away from negative thoughts about the past or future, calm emotions and bodily sensations, and slow down racing thoughts. 🚧

Learn ways to manage stress. This may include using relaxation techniques, such as breathing exercises, body scanning, progressive muscle relaxation, and letting go of unnecessary worries. 🚧

Practice sleep hygiene strategies each day to promote healthful sleep, which has a restorative effect on overall health, including brain health. Sleep deprivation can slow down the brain’s ability to function. 🚧

Avoid drugs and alcohol, as they can have negative effects on brain health and interfere with important aspects of functioning, such as sleep, mood and thinking abilities. ✔️

– Sharp Mesa Vista Hospital

I thought I was doing most those things, but looking back, I’m not, I’m hitting some areas hard like reading and gardening or playing games for fun, but not focusing on reducing stress or relaxing.

I’m going to try to see if any of those things I’ve neglected helps, starting with mindfulness and relaxation and hopefully I don’t have to change my sleep issues, because I don’t really want to go through night weaning yet, even though that may be part of the problem, it won’t be easy and I don’t want that struggle in my life on top of therapy and potty training.

I also looked for some inspiration from motivational quotes, I found a list of 300 and noted my favorite over some coffee:

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.”

– Helen Keller

“The question isn’t who is going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.”

– Ayn Ran

Do what you feel in your heart to be right – for you’ll be criticized anyway.”

– Eleanor Roosevelt

“No one is to blame for your future situation but yourself. If you want to be successful, then become “Successful.”

– Jaymin Shah

“Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle.”

– Abraham Lincoln

“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

– Anne Frank

“Great things are done by a series of small things brought together”

– Vincent Van Gogh

“It’s not the load that breaks you down, it’s the way you carry it.”

– Lou Holtz

“Keep your eyes on the stars, and your feet on the ground.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.”

– H. Jackson Brown Jr.

“If you cannot do great things, do small things in a great way.”

– Napoleon Hill

“In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity.”

– Albert Einstein

“Success is liking yourself, liking what you do, and liking how you do it.”

– Maya Angelou

“Be happy with what you have while working for what you want.”

– Helen Keller

You’re so much stronger than your excuses.

“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

– Theodore Roosevelt

“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself.”

– Rumi

“A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.”

– Sonia Sotomayer

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

– Martin Luther King Jr., A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings and Speeches

“The problem is not the problem. The problem is your attitude about the problem.”

– Pirates of the Caribbean

“We realize the importance of our voices only when we are silenced.”

– Malala Yousafzai

“Failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.”

– Arianna Huffington

“Be a first rate version of yourself, not a second rate version of someone else.”

– Judy Garland

“What hurts you blesses you.”

– Rumi

“The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.”

– Paulo Coelho

“I’m not in this world to live up to your expectations and you’re not in this world to live up to mine.”

– Bruce Lee

“It’s not what you do once in a while it’s what you do day in and day out that makes the difference.”

– Jenny Craig

“Falling down is how we grow. Staying down is how we die.”

– Brian Vaszily

“The adventure of life is to learn. The purpose of life is to grow. The nature of life is to change. The challenge of life is to overcome. The essence of life is to care. The opportunity of like is to serve. The secret of life is to dare. The spice of life is to befriend. The beauty of life is to give.”

– William Arthur Ward

“If you’ve never eaten while crying you don’t know what life tastes like.”

– Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

“Remember, you have been criticizing yourself for years and it hasn’t worked. Try approving of yourself and see what happens.”

– Louise L Hay

“One, remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Two, never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it. Three, if you are lucky enough to find love, remember it is there and don’t throw it away.”

– Stephen Hawking

“A goal is a dream with a deadline.”

– Napoleon Hill

“We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.”

– Maya Angelou

“Dreams are the seeds of change. Nothing ever grows without a seed, and nothing ever changes without a dream.”

– Debby Boone

“The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

– Socrates

“How to stop time: kiss. How to travel in time: read. How to escape time: music. How to feel time: write. How to release time: breathe.”

– Matt Haig

“The trouble is, you think you have time.”

– Buddha

“The greatest gift you could give someone is your time. Because when you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life you can’t get back.”

– Unknown

“Time always exposes what you mean to someone.”

– Unknown

“Defeat is a state of mind; no one is ever defeated until defeat is accepted as a reality.”

– Bruce Lee

“Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”

– Confucius

“It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all – in which case, you fail by default.”

– J.K. Rowling

“Success is going from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm”

– Winston Churchill

Whenever you feel like a failure, just remember that even Coca Cola only sold 25 bottles their first year

“Everything is hard before it is easy.”

– Goethe

“Either you run the day, or the day runs you.”

– Jim Rohn

“Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking.”

– Marcus Aurelius

“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.”

– Helen Keller

“The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has been before.’

– Albert Einstein

“The man who does not read has no advantage over the man who cannot read.”

– Mark Twain

“Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them.”
(Book 7, 47 of “Meditations” – Watch the stars in their courses as one that runs about with them therein; and think constantly upon the reciprocal changes of the elements, for thoughts on these things cleanse away the mire of our earthly life.)

– Marcus Aurelius

“Do something today that your future self will thank you for.”

– Unknown

“The greatest weapon against stress is the ability to choose one thought over another.”

– William James

“It takes nothing to join the crowd. It takes everything to stand alone.”

– Hans F. Hansen

“Motivation may be what starts you off, but it’s habit that keeps you going back for more.”

– Miya Yamanouchi

So out of 300, some were repeats, but about 50 spoke to me. Perhaps I’ll reflect on one a week for awhile.

To the people who are having trouble being productive yet, this article was for you, so you know you are not alone, I’m not sure if any of this is really helpful, but I hope we both find something that is. Cheers to getting back into a non-crisis mode.

🌄