What's next?

I have written a few times about the way 2020 affected me and over the past few weeks the feeling has become more intense, to the point of it feeling overwhelming at times.

I believe that it has come from the sense that there is no obvious end to the current situation and at this moment it is hard to know if we will be back to a normal(ish) life in the first half of 2021.

The virus has changed and we do not know yet how well the vaccines will protect us, and there are so many unanswered questions that it would not be worth even trying to answer them.

I believe that the way forward is to accept everything that is happening and deal with what can be dealt with. Covid-19 has to be dealt with by others. I will do my bit and follow the rules, but I have no control over how others behave and how governments continue to f*ck everything up.

Acceptance comes in many forms, however, and my next steps are to presume that this is my life for the time being and embrace it where I can. This involves simplifying everything where I can, for example I will be selling almost all of my watches and only keeping the ones that have an emotional connection, and I will also be concentrating my efforts on my daughter who needs her parents more than ever at the moment.

From getting as fit as I can, super fit this time, to ensuring that things are OK financially it makes sense to build the next steps on where I am at the moment and to over-compensate for every eventuality.

The idea is to give myself goals that will not only add security and fill some of the painfully quiet times, but to see anything that comes down the line as a bonus. The height of pessimism is a difficult line to tread; go too far one way and it leads to depression, but get it right and everything becomes a bonus.

I haven't written this to big up myself, but I am curious as to how you are dealing with the current situation so feel free to share your experiences and advice for coping in the comments.