Quotes to get you through the sh*t. That’s it. That’s the headline.
It’s quarantine. We’ve been at this for months. And at this point, anything goes. Case in point: I’m wearing a tie-dyed crewneck sweatshirt and hand-shoveling day-old popcorn into my mouth as I write this blog, one day before it’s due [Editor’s note: and I didn’t manage to review it until a week after it was due]. Whether you love working from home or you, like me, still haven’t found your groove, these quotes from some pretty rad women might help make these intolerable days just a titch more tolerable.
“We can do hard things.” – Glennon Doyle
If you haven’t already read Untamed by Glennon Doyle, I suggest you stop what you’re doing right now and get your hands on a copy. In a book I spent more time digging into than my college textbooks, Doyle reminds us all: We can do hard things.
Because, let’s face it. This year is hard. Working from home alongside a spouse, a kid, a roommate is hard. Trying to stay optimistic about the political climate is hard. And, as Doyle writes, “Being human isn’t hard because you’re doing it wrong, it’s hard because you’re doing it right. You will never change the fact that being human is hard, so you must change your idea that it was ever supposed to be easy.”
“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness.” –Maya Angelou
Sometimes it feels like the default mode of the world we live in is set to “mean.” We live in communities structured around racism, discrimination, and inequity. A world consumed by a virus and permeated by civil unrest. And yet, Maya Angelou reminds us that we can astonish a mean world with acts of kindness.
Believe me, I get it… when we’re in a mood, kindness is the last thing we want to share. So here are three super-simple ways to positively influence the world today:
Pay for the drink ordered by the person behind you in the drive-through
Leave a small gift (or a pumpkin) outside your neighbor’s front door
Send a card to someone you love (Pro tip: tape the envelope closed instead of licking the seal to spread fewer germs)
“Done is better than perfect.” –Sheryl Sandberg
This one’s for all the moms, spouses, care-takers, and other individuals trying to balance full-time work with full-time… everything else. Suddenly, our living room doubles as our yoga studio and our bedroom doubles as our office. So don’t waste your precious time on perfect. For the foreseeable future, littles will pop in every other minute, the WiFi will suck, and “done” will simply have to be good enough.
“So often in life, things that you regard as an impediment turn out to be great, good fortune.” –Ruth Bader Ginsburg
This list wouldn’t be complete without a quote from the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg—and it was hard to choose just one (RIP, RBG). Early on in the pandemic, an idea circulated that perhaps this slow-down is needed for all of us. To give both our environment and ourselves a chance to heal (at least a little bit). Although 2020 has, no doubt, brought about a number of tragedies, perhaps there is a bit of great, good fortune yet to be revealed before the year wraps. Fingers crossed.
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I am learning to steer my ship.” –Louisa May Alcott
Another outlook: Perhaps this mess of a year is teaching us all something. In the midst of a global pandemic and one of the most highly anticipated presidential elections in U.S. history, maybe we are learning. Learning from our past mistakes. Learning to listen to the voices that have been silenced for too long. We’re learning new hobbies and learning what we want for our futures. As Louisa May Alcott suggests, in the midst of this wild storm, we are learning to steer our ships.
“Let go of who you think you’re supposed to be; embrace who you are.” –Brene Brown
Six months ago, we all had to make a major pivot. Out of nowhere, our regular routines came crashing to a halt, and consequently, so did much of the progress many of us had made toward our goals. Now that mask-wearing and at-home working are the norm, it’s time to shift our idea of what we thought this year would look like and instead, heed Brene Brown’s advice to embrace who we are.
Roll up your sleeves & keep going
There is no sure-fire way to survive a global pandemic. There is no survival guide, because none of us have done this before. Adapting to the constant swirl of information and change that is 2020 isn’t easy for anyone. If you feel like you’re losing steam, may the wise words of these awesome ladies inspire you to keep going.
// Photo by Bich Tran