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In this episode of the VulnerABILITY Podcast, host Marisa Donnelly welcomes guest Alyssa Mopia, Founder of Future’s Past (a photography and film production company), and Coffee and Convos (a platform and podcast empowering vulnerability), to get raw and honest about how to reframe your mindset in the wake of COVID-19.
Highlights From the Episode:
[2:10] “What I’m really trying to do with my VulnerABILITY Podcast is open the door… to having conversations that I think people so often shy away from.”
[2:20] “Conversation is just another tool for connection… and one of the strongest forms of how we can really strengthen the relationships we have with people, whether we just met them or we’ve been good friends for years.”
[2:40] “I truly believe that vulnerability is such a strength and superpower that we can embody if we choose to.”
[5:50] “It’s just a different story when [someone] doesn’t want to open up and be vulnerable because that conversation won’t align with our audience, or even myself… I don’t expect you to cry or bare your soul to me, but I do expect… to share a part of your story that you feel comfortable with and that has really impacted your life, and in turn could impact somebody else’s.”
[6:40] “If you’re not willing to be open about those things, then how do people connect to you?”
[7:30] “What’s happening right now [with COVID-19] really calls for vulnerability, for people to say, “Yeah this is really hard,” and “This is what I’m going through,” and really invest in having those open conversations with one another.”
[9:35] “[The question to ask] is how to reframe your mindset… instead of operating in a place of fear and uncertainty?”
[9:40] “The things that I can control are how I react to something and also how much effort I put into something.”
[10:05] “We’re all feeling this overwhelm, we’re all feeling this anxiety and sadness and uncertainty. I have to allow myself some grace to accept that.”
[10:20] “I’ll slowly regain the same energy that I had before, once I start adapting and really shift my mindset to create that safe space for myself.”
[10:25] “We can’t really control what’s happening outside… what’s happening in the world. But we can at least control how we talk to [ourselves], how we wake up in the morning, [and] what kind of routine can we implement?”
[11:25] “Everybody’s in fast-forward mode… Trying to pick up the pieces and figure out what to do next… I’m a ‘what’s next’ kind of person. I have a plan. I have a schedule, you know, ‘Here’s the next thing on the to-do.’ So when I’m faced with so much unknown, I’m like, ‘Okay, but now what?’”
[12:00] “Sometimes we don’t have a plan and we just don’t’ know. So we have to give it time.”
[12:10] “[Learning] how to reframe your mindset and have a new attitude… That only comes when we give ourselves time. If we’re trying to rush through everything, and hurry through our healing, or hurry through our stress, or our decisions — we can’t really get to a healthy place. But if we allow time to come in, we can refocus.”
[13:00] “It’s time for us to really look inward and come from a place of reflection… This is such an unpredictable time. Maybe it’s time for all of us to really take a catalog of our lives [and ask]: ‘Was I operating in a place where I was passionate?’”
[14:20] “What are you investing yourself during this time? …It’s a state of innovation and exploration.”
[16:00] “We have to find ways to make this ‘new normal’ feel okay… We can shift our focus to get through it — and not to forge ahead and not acknowledge our feelings — but as a welcomed release… as opposed to a distraction because we’re stressed.”
[17:50] “There’s a beauty in this struggle we’re all feeling. There’s a universal understanding that’s like, ‘Okay guys, this really sucks. But also, we will be okay.’”
[24:10] “This [quarantine] is strengthening relationships, and people are calling it ‘physical distancing’ not ‘social distancing’ because there are people being social now more than ever.”
[25:50] “You have to do the inner work in order to show up. Because how are you going to show up for other people if you don’t show up for yourself first?”
[27:25] “I think we need more spaces… where we can show up and be unapologetically [ourselves].”
[29:05] “This current time invites a state of being as opposed to a state of doing.”
[33:00] “We can’t control what’s happening with our businesses, or events, or with the things that we spent time, and money, and effort, and passion trying to build. But perhaps it could lead to different opportunities. Perhaps ones we haven’t even thought of.
It all comes down to perspective. Can we shift the way we look at things that are happening and… rather than focusing on, ‘What we can do now?,’ or ‘How we can fix this?,’ or ‘How can we make it better.’ …Maybe we can just be and let life unfold [and] be open to things are going to be so different. And maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe that’s a beautiful thing.”
[34:10] “I do believe that we will come out of this situation a lot stronger when we’re forced to adapt and be innovative and creative… But you have to be in control of your perspective.”
[36:10] “The last few weeks were a moment of rest for me. But now it’s a moment of innovation and creativity, and coming up with ways to really walk out of this stronger than I was when I entered.”
Resources Mentioned:
- Cal Newport’s book, Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World.
- Radha Agrawal’s book, Belong: Find Your People, Create Community, and Live a More Connected Life.
- Insight Timer (which has free episodes, by the way!)
- Amber Ray’s journaling challenge for getting out of your own head.
PS: You can connect with Alyssa on her website.
To listen to other episodes, click here.
