7 ways to stay motivated when everything you’ve been looking forward to is suddenly gone

“Next season isn’t cancelled, it’s just a longer offseason.”

Photo by Allie Smith on Unsplash

Yesterday, I made a list of things I usually look forward to when I’m having a tough day.

• Lacrosse
• Vacation
• Parties
• Dates
• Concerts
• Get-togethers with friends

But then, COVID-19 happened.

• Lacrosse? Canceled.
• Vacation? Canceled.
• Parties? Canceled.
• Dates? Canceled.
• Concerts? Canceled.
• Get-togethers? Canceled.

In German, we have a saying: “Vorfreude ist die schönste Freude.” Anticipation is the greatest joy.

Thanks to COVID-19, all this anticipation all the sudden is gone. No more vacations. No more sports tournaments. No more get-togethers with the family. No more parties. And nobody even knows when things will go back to being “normal”.

How do you stay motivated if you all the sudden have nothing to look forward to?