Managing the stresses of
our daily lives is a challenge even in the best of times. We yearn for
good fulfilling careers, excellent education for our children, care and support for our parents, safe and clean estates, rewarding investment opportunities, loyal friends with fellowship, exciting destinations to travel and explore, and so on.
good fulfilling careers, excellent education for our children, care and support for our parents, safe and clean estates, rewarding investment opportunities, loyal friends with fellowship, exciting destinations to travel and explore, and so on.
However, the persistent
Covid-19 pandemic permeates into nearly all aspects of our lives. Will
our jobs survive? Will our industries change to unrecognisable extents?
Will
our children still adequately learn and thrive? Will we get sick by
eating out, ordering groceries, going to work, and walking in crowded
spaces? Will our Kenyan economy sink and flatten the growth and value of
our investments? Will our reduced human in person interactions minimise
the efficacy of our friendships? Will travel ever be the same again?
The
global health chaos brings stress and worry at each stage of our lives
and jobs while multiplying the stress levels that we already faced. We
feel our energy levels zapped. We sense that we do not possess the
desired control over our lives. We realise that we hold less time to
complete our needed tasks. So, how do our brains handle the added
externally induced shocks? The human mind developed over thousands of
generations to react quickly and efficiently to immediate risks. On the
other hand, we do not react to or process existential or long drawn out
threats effectively because in a pre-agricultural world, abrupt hazards
comprised nearly the whole human existence.
In our
contemporary times though, when severe longer-term dangers beyond
immediate equivalents of hunting and gathering stress us, our minds
jumble past, present, and future risks all into overarching anxiety.
Since ancient harms revolved around speedy acceptance by our
family members, dodging charging elephants, and foraging for enough food
to last through dry seasons, our brains today still function with
immediate obsession.
We spend four times as long
worrying about negative aspects of our lives and jobs than we do
celebrating and appreciating positive triumphs. Therefore, we often fail
to gain bigger picture perspective in our lives, especially during
difficulties or chaos.
Behavioural health advisor Jane
Ehrman encourages employees to intentionally focus on their mental
health during coronavirus-induced shocks and handle overwhelming fears
and negativity head-on.
First, turn your worry into
action. Occasionally, your fears and anxieties might hold a justifiable
basis. Fear for your job? Before any bad news gets confirmed, update
your CV and LinkenIn profiles.
Start proactively
networking with friends, chama members, former classmates, former
professors, among others. Review dozens of jobs on online platforms.
Investigate side hustles. Worry that your industry will change after
Covid-19? Register and participate in free online MOOC and edX or
fee-based but reasonable Maisha Skills and Udemy and discover other
careers that fit your passion and build skills in that new industry. Ask
for informational interviews about different industries from those in
your network.
Second, choose an accountability partner.
Utilise that friend to articulate all your anxieties and let them help
you prioirtise what may prove real threats versus theoretical risks.
Such interactions assist you to relinquish your fixation with control
over all situations.
Third, acquire a tip from South
Asian and East Asian traditions and focus on your breathing. Sit up
quietly and calmly and then take deep breaths in through your nose and
out through your mouth. Practice intentional breathing several times per
day for several minutes each time.
Fourth, before you
drift off to sleep every night, grab your mobile phone or a piece of
paper and spend intentional time writing down at least 10 positive
things in your life that deserve your gratitude. Writing positive
aspects of our lives reprogrammes our brains to realise and focus on the
bigger picture.
Adhering to the above four steps will
repurpose your negative thinking and the commensurate anxiety and lead
you to actionable solutions in your life and job.
No comments :
Post a Comment