Gratitude 101: What I Learned During the Lockdown

Recently, I did two things that I hadn’t done in a while. Firstly, it was my sister’s birthday, and she decided she wanted to order a takeaway pizza. This was the first takeaway that my family had ordered since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown back in March. I am never one to pass up on food, especially not a pizza. What genius it was by Italy to challenge the sandwich in favour of bread heated with the toppings atop. You simply can’t go wrong with a pizza.

Okay, so in the bigger scheme of things, saying this doesn’t sound like a big deal, right? But actually, I think we learned a lot through the adversity and trials of the coronavirus lockdown and how to make the most of every little thing, not to take anything for granted. Hopefully, we’ll remember these lessons. Read on for Gratitude 101: What I Learned During the Lockdown!

We Spent More Time…Cooking

So was the pizza worth the wait? I’m afraid not. Lockdown has presented the opportunity for my family and many others around the world to do more cooking. As a student that moved back home from the convenience of the city, it was a positive shock to the system. In the busy world that we have now left behind, while there were handy ready-meals, mealdeals etc, eating out in general quickly transitions from a treat to a habit. And boy, does it begin to show on the weighing scales!

Regardless of whether eating at home has increased or decreased that number on the scale, when you spend more time actually making your meals, you begin to care more about what ingredients you have. You feel more gratitude. (We ultimately can’t create food after all, we only gather and rearrange ingredients!)

I Learned to Cook!

I myself have particularly enjoyed learning new recipes such as risotto – another Italian masterpiece. I know that it is good to help out the high street and spend some money out when you can but please don’t forget how good the food you made and ate actually tasted despite these weird times!

A Simple Game of Tennis with a Friend

And what else did I try out? A good friend of mine invited me to go and play tennis after dinner. The competitive side of me was hesitant – I hadn’t played in almost a year, But I made sure that I was there and I had the most enjoyable time. Tennis holds a special place in my heart because it is such a significant challenge.

As someone with limited vision, it is easy to write me off when I hit the court. Perceiving the depth of the ball is always an extra reason to keep me on my toes. Naturally, after a year out, the rally wasn’t exactly Roger or Rafa-esque. Nevertheless, as time went on, we grew confident and started pulling off some great shots. Were the scouts there, we may not have got a scholarship, but at least the heart rate increased, and so did the smiles. That is the great thing about sport, anyone can do it if you put your mind into it, and when you find your way, you can have a great time.

That night proved something to me. As hard as times might seem right now, it’s important to remember that life isn’t all about rushing here, there and everywhere or even winning. As long as you keep fit and healthy in a way that makes you happy, and you have gratitude for it, you’ll live longer and squeeze the most out of every day!

What new insights about yourself did you gather during the lockdown? What do you feel more gratitude for? Let us know in the comments below, and join in the conversation on Facebook, Twitter Instagram! For more limit-busting material, visit our motivational department!

Adam Williams

Whether Adam is participating in, watching, or talking about sport, it is always a huge source of motivation. He is interested in the incremental changes that we can make as humans to leverage a big difference in our day-to-day lives. He loves running, walking, football, tennis, rugby - the list goes on! He is also driven to inspire people of all abilities and stages to get active. His motto is: We are all dealt a set of cards in life. Let’s play them well!

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