Keeping a positive mindset in the times of COVID-19

Without a doubt, the pandemic has disrupted the life of almost every person on the planet to a certain degree. Millions have been infected with COVID-19. Many more have lost their jobs. Hundreds of thousands have died. Countless personal plans and project have been cancelled or put on hold.

One of the most important words in my life is gratitude and I cannot begin to count the ways that I'm blessed. I practice feeling gratitude when I meditate. I always try to tell the important people in my life how grateful I am to have them close to me. But the COVID-19 pandemic is a powerful reminder of how fragile we are as humans and how life changes in an instant. Today more than ever I'm grateful for my health and for being alive.

2020 began in a very exciting way, with back-to-back paragliding competitions in Valle de Bravo, Mexico. At the end of February I went back to Kilimanjaro with my wife and father-in-law. Although wind conditions were not safe for paragliding off the summit, I was able to stand on the highest point of Africa one more time. The rest of the plans I had for the first half of 2020 were some of the most hectic I've had for a long time:

April

Marathon des Sables.- I was going back to the Sahara Desert in Morocco to run this 250km multi-stage, self-supported race. I ran it in 2017.
Exploring Morocco with my wife after MDS.
London Marathon.- This is the only one of the Abbott World Major Marathons I'm missing. I've run Tokyo (2x), Berlin (2x), New York (4x), Chicago (2x) and Boston (2x). I'd been trying for many years to get an entry for the London Marathon but usually I was climbing in the Himalayas during April.

May

Paragliding in the Pyrenees.- As part of training and scouting the route for X-Pyr (see below).
Bornes to Fly.- I signed up to take part in this challenging 3-day hike & fly competition in France.

June

Comrades Marathon.- I was going back for the third time to this 90km ultra-marathon in South Africa. This time I was hoping to get a special medal for finishing back-to-back, up and down years.
X-Pyr.- I had been waiting for this opportunity for many years. I took part in the 2016 edition of this incredible race hiking and flying across the Pyrenees. Since I was selected last year, most of my plans and training were pieces of the X-Pyr puzzle.

Those were just my sports and adventure goals for the first half of the year. I had many other personal and professional goals that were as exciting.

The consequences of the pandemic became evident at the beginning of March and one by one the events were cancelled or postponed. I dreaded checking my email because I would keep getting discouraging updates from race organizers announcing cancellations. Every plan on my list, except for Marathon des Sables and London Marathon, was cancelled. Those two were postponed to September and October respectively, but I don't think they will continue as rescheduled.

By definition, adventure has an uncertain outcome. I'm good at adapting to change, especially when the circumstances are out of my control. Still, I would have never imagined that all the adventure and personal plans I had for this semester would be wiped out in such an unexpected way . We live our lives under the illusion of permanence and continuity. A microscopic coronavirus has shown us how insubstantial those illusions are.

For some moments, as is typical of human nature, I internalized the situation. I only thought of how COVID-19 was ruining my plans. I thought of the terrible ways in which the pandemic was afecting me. The "wasted" months of planning and training. Thankfully that moment didn't last long and I put the situation in its right context. Hundreds of thousands dead. Millions of people sick and quarantined. Whole countries in lockdown. Medical professionals all over the world placing themselves at risk, and selflessly taking care of others. With the Tokyo 2020 games cancelled, more than 10,000 Olympic athletes lost four years of dreams and sacrifices. My "problems" were insignificant when put in perspective.

I didn't think of it anymore as wasted time training for competitions that were cancelled. I thought of the great pleasure I got from those training runs, hikes and flights. I thought of how fitter they made me, and of the lessons I learned and could apply for later. The pandemic and cancellations were not under my control. What was under my control was how I adapted my plans and life to the new situation. It was up to me to decide if I would waste months of my life or if I would use this time for personal growth. For resetting my goals. I transformed my way of thinking and I found the positive side of my situation. These are some of the things I've done during the pandemic:

As I plan to get a degree in Archeology in the future, I thought it would be useful to enroll in online classes to study the major world religions throught their scriptures. I took HarvardX courses on Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Christianity and Buddhism. I spent about 120 hours studying these courses.
I restarted my meditation practice. I'd been neglecting it for a few months. I also started doing breathing exercises that help me feel energized or relaxed, depending on what I need at the time.
During the lockdown I've read 10 books, fiction and non-fiction. They have subjects as diverse as the independence of Arabia, Shamanism, Buddhism, philosophy, Scandinavian noire and the history of the FBI's elite serial crime unit.
I studied cryptocurrencies and blockchain, which is something I'd wanted to do for a long time.
Respecting social distancing and mostly in the forest, I've run nearly 350km during the pandemic. That has helped me to stay fit and healthy, both physically and mentally.
To boost my immune system, I started eating healthier than ever and I felt the possitive effects immediately. I'm vegetarian and the only animal products I eat are dairy and eggs. I became very strict with the nutritional quality of the food that I eat.
I've read a lot about the benefits of fasting but for a long time I'd put off trying it myself. During lockdown I began fasting for periods of 48 hours every two weeks. I more focused and my mind is sharp.
I spent long hours updating my bucket list and adding amazing places and adventures. I'm committed to make them a reality and to stop finding excuses to procrastinate.
I took self-scored IQ tests, and I started doing daily mental exercises to keep my mind active. I committed to take the Mensa test as soon as it was safe to do so.
I started researching options for self-publishing a book. I learned as much as I could about Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.
I've watched the sunrise and sunset every day since lockdown began.

I did all this while still working remotely.

My personal plans and adventures for the first half of 2020 were cancelled or postponed. That doesn't mean my life is also on hold and I'm happy with the way I've spent this time. I'm grateful for my life and I'm grateful for my health. Now I'm also thankful for this unusual opportunity to get so many things done. I've been careful but I don't live with fear.

It will take a long time for the world to go back to what we used to consider "normal". When it does, I'll be ready to continue living my life to the fullest.