Atomic Habits

Have you ever gotten stuck trying to implement a really important habit? Why is it so hard to stay consistent? How often do you start a new activity with lots of energy, only to just stop after a few days?

Today’s post will be all about habit formation and how to incorporate consistency into your life. I’ll use the techniques I gained from ‘Atomic Habits’ by James Clear and some of my own little life hacks. You’ll probably want to get a journal out and take down some notes, this will be very interesting!

I’ll discuss what, how and why to form habits, then I’ll introduce you to a concept called habit-stacking and the 2-minute rule.

What are habits? –> Outcome

A habit is essentially a behaviour that is performed automatically or on a regular basis. They are mental shortcuts learned from experience. Your personal feedback loop to living more efficiently.

“Success is the product of daily habits, not a once-in-a-lifetime transformation.”

Let’s identify the different between goal-oriented habits and system-oriented habits. Goals are essentially about the results you’d like to achieve. Systems are about the processes that lead to those results. You need to be more concerned with your current trajectory than with your current results.

It’s your commitment to the process that will determine your progress. I think most of the time we become obsessed with achieving a certain goal, without putting much thought into how we’re actually going to get there. So how can we form systems that will allow us to reach those goals?

“If you can get 1% better each day, you’ll end up 37x times better after 365 days.”

How do you form habits that last? –> Processes

It starts with trial and error. The feedback loop involves trying, failing, learning and then trying differently. The emphasis here is on the failing, because that’s often the most demotivating part. You need to realize that failure is part of growth. Progress requires you to unlearn and then relearn. It’s all part of the plan.

There are 2 phases each containing 2 subcategories to the habit loop; a problem phase and a solution phase. The problem phase consists of Cue and Craving, whilst the solution phase consists of Response and Reward.

To put it simply: the cue is about noticing a reward (trigger), craving is wanting that reward (desire), response is about working towards the reward (motivation) and reward ultimately satisfies us or teaches us. This in turn associates the reward with the cue.

Four laws of behaviour change:

1. Make it obvious
2. Make it attractive
3. Make it easy
4. Make it satisfying

If you combine that concept with the four laws of behaviour change, you’ll amplify the habit formation process. So why form habits?

Why should you form habits? –> Identity

When a habit becomes part of your identity, it feeds the loop that will continuously motivate you. Decide who you want to be. Prove it to yourself with small consistent wins.

Keep the benefits of the habit you’re about to form at the forefront of your mind. You want to remind yourself on a regular basis how this will serve you and why you’re pursuing it.

Familiarize yourself with the concept of failure, because pain is an effective teacher. The more you identify as a ‘perfectionist’ or someone who never fails, the less likely you are to overcome the fear of failure.

Habit stacking

This is a simple trick whereby you pair a new habit with an existing one. For example, if you want to start reading more every night before you go to bed, start immediately after you brush your teeth. This makes it easier for your mind to remember when to do it.

“We are more likely to repeat a behaviour when the experience is satisfying.”

You’re pairing those habits together so that you can stay consistent. Let’s dive into how to develop that consistency.

The two-minute rule

You need to make it as easy as possible to get started. This is one of the most important concepts to learn, because we are often very resistant to habits that seem like mountains to climb.

The two-minute rule is essentially sticking to the new habit for 2 minutes everyday. Want to start reading? Do it for 2 minutes. Want to start meditating? Do it for 2 minutes. Want to start exercising? Do it for 2 minutes.

Master the habit of showing up. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You just need to do it. Once it starts becoming part of who you are, you can optimize and push yourself a little more. The key is to get comfortable with consistency.

“A thousand mile journey begins with a single step.”

I hope this has served you in some way. It’s not easy to form habits that last, but once you make it part of who you are, you’ll never be able to let go. Remember to focus on processes not just goals when forming habits. You will slip up here and there, but don’t give up. You will get there, just keep trying your best.

“The process of building habits is actually the process of becoming yourself.”

If you have any thoughts or questions that you’d like to share, feel free to comment below.

Social media through a positive lens

Do you also really love sharing memes? Have you found it easy to virtually communicate with family and friends recently? Why do we enjoy posting pics of us travelling?

How often do we focus on the benefits that we derive from social media? Okay maybe a few of you addicts have those ready for argument’s sake, but I mean it from a place of inspiration, guidance and service.

I’ve been asked to write an alternative view to my older post about social media. I’ll discuss how we’re able to stay connected, being a source of inspiration, finding motivation, using creative outlets, learning to surf the web and understanding two sides of a story.

Let’s dive into some healthy perspectives and learn how to face the digital tsunami we’re inevitably experiencing.

Staying connected

The lock down has shown us what a monumental resource technology has been, especially connecting through social media. We’re able to stay in touch with our friends and family from all over the world, doing so now more than ever before.

Video calling friends and family can be incredibly healing, especially when you can’t travel to see them. I think we have a lot to be grateful for, especially the fact that we’re not dealing with the 1918 pandemic. Imagine if the only way to communicate with the rest of the world was through pigeons?

Shutterstock

I do hope that your communication extends further than liking and commenting on posts, as that isn’t really ‘connecting’.

Being a source of inspiration

We have an incredible ability to influence people on social media. Why not utilize this to help other people? If you ever feel like you’d want to serve a cause greater than yourself, it’s now easier than ever before to do just that.

Social media enables us to post about aspects of our lives that could benefit other people. Sharing your exercise regime, your daily habits, the recipes for your Insta-worthy food, your studying routine, your poetry, your philosophy, how you deal with your mental health and so much more, can all greatly encourage people.

There are various ways for us to make the most of our time spent on social media, we just have to be conscious of the energy and content we upload / expose ourselves to.

So long as we’re intentional about why we do what we do, we can all contribute positively.

Creative outlet

As mentioned above regarding sources of inspiration, social media can be used as a creative outlet. It allows people to make a living off sharing their art and what truly matters to them. Remember that art isn’t restricted to a specific genre like drawing. It’s about finding a way to express yourself and allowing people to connect with you in a unique way.

This has also enabled us to work from home and keep going with ‘business as usual’. Being in lock-down has been an incredible source of creativity for many people, as we’ve finally made time to focus more on what matters.

It has also enabled people to start thinking genuinely about what they want to achieve in their life. We’re not limited to 9-5 jobs in an office desk anymore. We have the world at our very fingertips.

Finding motivation

When things get overwhelming and difficult, we can search for ways to stay motivated. There are so many people who upload content specifically to encourage people, to keep them going, to help them stay on track. If you’re ever feeling a little overwhelmed, learn about how others deal with that same feeling.

Sharing our stories and accomplishments can allow us to be a source of motivation to others. When you see other people overcoming hurdles, it empowers you to keep trying. When you see that you’re not alone in this, it helps you feel related to.

This all depends on how well you’re able to work the algorithms and keep your feed in check. We need to learn about exposing ourselves to relevant content.

Learning how to surf the internet

For us to adequately deal with waves of change, we need to learn how to surf. The internet is just a bunch of web-pages that represent gnarly waves. We have to make sure we tread the waters carefully, by studying and actively seeking ways to understand it.

Here’s a great YouTube series to help you with that:

There’s a lot of chaos and misinformation amongst the memes and selfies. We need to become aware of how fake news also tends to go viral; spreading corruption in a different form.

We need to find a balance. The very same resources that we use to empower ourselves, can be used against us. The quality of our relationships, our attention span, the subconscious and even childhood development are all being heavily influenced by the presence of social media and technology.

Two sides of a story

How often have you found yourself defending a story after hearing only 1 side of it? You trust that person or source, therefore, believe them entirely without doing your own research.

We need to understand that social media, like all media platforms, feed off engagement. When people post offensive or contradictory statements, it gains traction and starts trending. We all hop on the bandwagon and join in, further fueling engagement.

So my point here is that we’re barely able to hear two sides of a story IRL, imagine how much tougher it is on social media? We just need to be intentional and a little more conscious of how we’re allowing the technology to seep into every aspect of our lives.

A wise man once said: “Stay woke.”

Regardless of what your stance is, you need to become adept at navigating digital information.

We can find resources to stay motivated and use ourselves to inspire others. We can unleash our creativity in incredible ways and share it with the world around us. There’s so much that we have to be thankful for, especially how we’re able to stay connected using social media.

It’s just as important to stay aware of the influence social media has on us. We need to put in a little effort to understand the navigation, so that we don’t drown in information. There’s much more to it than the click-bait or headline.

I’d like to thank you for your time and support, it always means a great deal to me. We’re all in this together, so we should always share whatever beneficial knowledge we have. I’m going to end this by repeating the quote I used in my previous post on social media.

“We don’t have a choice on whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it.”

Erik Qualman

The Paradox of Choice

How often do you feel like there are too many options to choose from? Couldn’t figure out what to watch on Netflix? Got stuck deciding what outfit to wear? Couldn’t pick a restaurant to go out to with your friends? Struggled to pick a meal once you were at that restaurant?

We’re living in an age where we have more choices for pretty much everything than ever before. We tend to think that our freedom lies in having a variety of choices, but there’s a threshold before those choices become taxing.

I’d like to use this post to discuss a very interesting phenomenon; the paradox of choice. This post will serve as a summary for the book written by Barry Shwartz, but I’ll talk about other relevant ideas too.

I’ll also talk about a concept called decision fatigue, how unlimited choices affect us psychologically, the contribution of capitalism and how to move forward.

Why more is less

As previously mentioned, it seems like having too many options is paralyzing us, instead of liberating us. We don’t realize how when comparing so many choices, it often leaves us with a sense of regret.

I should’ve ordered the usual. We should’ve chosen the first hotel. We should’ve watched the other movie. I should’ve joined the other course.

“Instead of increasing our sense of well-being, an abundance of choice is increasing our levels of anxiety, depression, and wasted time. “

onegreenplanet.org

According to Barry Shwartz, good decisions usually involve 6 key aspects. As you’ll notice, the more options that are available to us, the more effort will be required to make a sound decision. Here are the 6 steps:

1. Identify your goal or goals
2. Evaluate their importance
3. Array the options to achieve them
4. Evaluate how likely each option is to meet your goals
5. Pick the best options
6. Modify your goals based on the outcome

You can see from the list above, if firstly, you don’t have a clear idea of what you’re trying to achieve, you’re going to have trouble making a decision. Understanding how important your goal is to you also plays an important role, because it allows you to sort through the options more effectively.

“Nobody makes plans because something better might turn up, and the result is that nobody every does anything.”

Let’s see how trying to sift through several options affects our ability to further make decisions.

Decision fatigue

You have a certain capacity for the amount of good decisions you can make in a single day. Essentially, your willpower diminishes and the quality of your decisions decrease based on the number of decisions that you make.

The graph below shows what I mean by that. It clearly illustrates that the quality of your decisions are higher, when you make less decisions. Why is understanding this useful? Because it allows us to focus on making our decisions earlier and on what matters.

bluejeanwellness.com

Let’s think about the first hour of your typical day and how many decisions you make before leaving the house. Okay in this case we’re not leaving the house anymore, but until you start being ‘productive’ at home.

You’d usually start on auto-pilot; snoozing, then brushing your teeth, making the bed, stretching a little, maybe even scrolling through your phone (terrible idea btw).

Then comes breakfast. What do I eat? What should I drink? What should I prepare for lunch later? Then you need to get dressed. What should I wear? When should I shower? Should I exercise now or later? Then you have to prepare to do work. Which assignment should I start with? Should I respond to these emails now? Why won’t these people leave me alone?

You get my point. Before we can even start making any important decisions, we’ve already exhausted a handful of our will-power’s supply.

This essentially means that we should make the most important decisions early in the morning. Start planning for your daily activities in advance. Choose your breakfast and your outfit the day before.

Reduce the amount of decisions you need to make per day and you’ll clear up a lot of cognitive space.

The psychology of unlimited choices

When you make a decision that doesn’t turn out well and then find better alternatives, how does usually make you feel?

Regretful.

How does regret play a role in our decision making? There are two main forms of regret, namely: post-decision and anticipation.

When things don’t go well after a decision is made, that’s called post-decision regret. When we anticipate that things aren’t going to go well before even making a decision, it often leaves us feeling anticipatory regret.

Having an enormous amount of choices leads to constantly evaluating “What if”. That is called counterfactual thinking. When we ponder over scenarios that could’ve been. That often leads us to appreciating what we have less and therefore, we derive less satisfaction from our decisions.

Being aware of these psychological consequences is actually a great way for us to overcome the paralysis of over-stimulation. We can identify more clearly our objectives before making a decision, we can learn to accept “good enough” and learn to focus on the few options that meet our standards.

“What looks attractive in prospect, doesn’t always look so good in practice.”

We need to decide when choices really matter and focus our energy there. We tend to believe that the choices we make are a reflection of who we are, so we spend more time than we realize evaluating them.

Capitalism

The root of all evil. I’m kidding haha. I won’t dive too deeply into this, just needed to share some of my thoughts. It seems that the ever increasing number of choices for everything, is rooted in modern consumerism.

Capitalism has bred this kind of thinking in several ways. By making people believe that their sense of value is determined by their net worth. By creating a culture of social comparison, where everyone’s ego is on the line. By creating a ‘satisfaction treadmill’, where we continuously chase the latest products and trends, thinking that we’ll get satisfaction from it.

We might not be able to change the way the system runs on our own, but we can learn to better maneuver through it. We can become aware of how it influences us and our ability to make decisions.

Better awareness -> Better choices -> Better results.

How do we move forward with all this?

Great question. Here some of the points the author mentions that are imperative for us to remain satisfied with our decisions.

1. Choose when to choose
2. Be a chooser not a picker
3. Make your decisions non-reversible
4. Focus on your blessings and be grateful
5. Regret less through acceptance
6. Anticipate adaptation
7. Control expectations
8. Curtail social comparison
9. Learn to embrace constraints

We need to realize that we often try to make decisions based on the objective experience it will provide. However, what’s actually important to us, is often the subjective experience. How we feel about it.

Being a chooser entails understanding what is important to you and how that aligns with your values. Being a picker means just ‘going with the flow’ and picking anything. By making your decisions non-reversible, you’d spend less time ruminating over the other choices. Having an “attitude of gratitude” is pivotal to appreciation and also helps with overcoming regret.

We’re hyper-adaptive beings. We need to keep in mind that everything that was once novel, will become ordinary and comfortable after a while. We need to manage our expectations more realistically in order to avoid disappointment.

Curtailing social comparison is essentially not worrying about everyone else. You’re living your own life, based on your circumstances and your life goals. Don’t worry about impressing other people or missing out based on their experiences. Finally, embrace constraints. Manage your options by limiting them whilst maintaining your standards.

“Choice within constrains, freedom within limits, is what allows us to imagine a host of marvelous possibilities.”

It’s okay…

I’d like to reiterate on the topic of toxic productivity that I discussed last week (you can click on the hyper-link to read the article). It’s a strange time for us all, it’s okay to feel the way you feel.

I’ll briefly talk about a few key components of emotional intelligence and how that’s relevant to us today. I’ll focus on why acceptance is key, how to ask the right questions and understanding how temporary this all is.

Acceptance

If you can master the art of acquiescence, you’ll truly find peace with all that happens in your life. Acceptance seems to work like a charm, yet it’s so difficult to attain.

One of the key aspects of self-awareness is learning to accept your emotions after you’ve acknowledged them. Learning to become present with your feelings and thoughts is a life-long process, but we’ve got to start somewhere.

Once you’ve learned how to accept a thought or feeling, it no longer holds any weight over you. It sounds incredibly simple, but it genuinely works. Some of you may have more serious circumstances, so it’s not necessarily an immediate remedy. But the concept itself still holds true. Learn to accept.

It’s okay to be confused. It’s okay not to be okay. It’s okay if you’re scared. It’s okay if you’re a little upset. It’s okay if you’re uncomfortable. It’s okay if your schedule is a bit messed up. It’s okay if you’re uncertain.

Don’t judge yourself. Don’t give up on yourself. Don’t think that this is the end. Our patience and resilience are truly being tested. Notice how your body reacts to those feelings and take in a few deep breaths.

Write it down. Accept it. Let it go.

We need to ask ourselves the right questions and gently work on our state of mind.

Questions

I’d like to offer you a few important questions again. Remember that questions are answers. If you can master the art of asking yourself the right questions, the answers will come finding you. That’s the power of your subconscious.

• How am I feeling right now?
• What can I do about this feeling?
• Why am I finding it difficult to deal with this?
• Have I always felt this way?
• Is this temporary or permanent? Will I always feel like this?
• How have I previously overcome difficult emotions?
• What am I grateful for right now?

There are so many more important questions to ask, these are but a handful. Think of questions for yourself, aspects that are critical to your well-being.

Your mind works really well when you’re not constantly occupied. If you ask a question before going to bed or before going for a short walk, you’ll be amazed at how the subconscious processing works. Another cool exercise would be to answer these questions in a journal.

“Writing is closer to thinking than speaking.”

Temporary

Another incredibly important component of understanding emotions is that they’re temporary. If you contemplate on that fact, it naturally brings peace to your train of thought.

We too are temporary. We’re not going to be here forever. That is something that really makes me feel humble. Things are going to end soon. I may not know when, but I know it’s inevitable.

Meditate on how short-lived natural beings truly are. Everything is cyclic; change being the only constant. There’s no point swimming against the tide, we just need to focus on where it’s heading.

“Change is inevitable; resistance is futile.”

Everyone is on their own journey. Don’t compare yourself to the rate of other people’s growth. Focus on your own growth. Focus on helping others to your best ability.

It’s okay if you’re not okay. It’s okay if things aren’t going according to plan. It’s okay if you’re lacking motivation. We’re in a cocoon. We’re exactly where we’re meant to be. This is part of the healing process. Embrace it.

Don’t quit. Don’t lose hope. Don’t give in to your impulses. Stay strong. Stay present. Stay grateful. We’ll get through this; stronger, smarter and more resilient than ever before.

Toxic Productivity

At this point, most of us have been spending an unusual amount of time at home. I know we’re procrastinating and spending way more time online than we usually do. But there’s another aspect of this isolation that I’d like to speak about – being obsessed with productivity.

We live in an age where we’re bombarded by people’s success. Social media makes us showcase the best aspects of our lives. There’s always a story of someone who started a multi-billion dollar company from scratch. Apps that revolutionize the world. YouTubers making millions from every video. IG influencers living off their posts.

How can productivity be toxic?

Something I haven’t really thought about before was the concept of ‘toxic productivity’. Which is essentially our obsession with being busy and finding things to do. Our somewhat unhealthy pursuit of success and greatness. Largely due to our subconscious comparison to those around us.

This may not be relevant to all of you, but it’s an important concept to understand.

I’m someone who tends to fill every second of my day with various activities; trying to make the most of my time. This can be great, it allows me to get a lot of shit done. There are certain moments in the day where I just can’t sit still though, I almost itch to find more work to do – that’s when it becomes a problem.

We need to give our brain time off to just relax and digest ideas. It can’t always be about the next assignment, the next meeting, the next goal, the next objective, the next game, the next blog, the next video, the next post, the next meal to cook.

There’s a big difference between being busy and being productive.

Workaholism and hustle culture have played a major role in our lives over the past few years. We’re told to stay productive, work harder, sleep less, exercise more, keep pushing until you drop!

Productivity without the toxic aspect

I’m not saying that we should procrastinate or stop being productive. I’m trying to bring to your awareness that there’s a threshold to your work ethic, before things start getting toxic. We have to embrace the concept of being bored sometimes and allow ourselves to just be.

Don’t overwhelm your schedule with unnecessary work, space it out where possible. To-do lists can be a great tool to stay on track with your tasks, just ensure there’s not too much to do.

Use your time wisely and allocate space for rest and recovery.

Work smart, not just hard.

Understand your attention span. We’re not really effective after sitting in front of the same task for about 45 minutes. The mind starts to wander and efficiency starts to drop.

Take breaks regularly to basically hit the refresh button. Listen to your body and respect your limits. Take deep breaths. Don’t push yourself to the point of sickness.

Understand the sacrifices you need to make in order to succeed. There’s a certain way to push past your current limits, by first understanding what they are. Set objectives to slowly leave your comfort zone; consistently.

This post is a reminder to myself before anyone else, that there’s definitely a point where working no longer becomes efficient. It’s crucial for us to be mindful of that, so we can optimize our schedule to get as much done (how ironic lmao). This needs us to account for rest and periods where we aren’t unnecessarily finding things to do.

Keep up the great work and don’t allow failure to stop you from moving forward. Fostering a growth mindset is the best thing you can ever do for yourself and those around you.

Stay realistic and take it easy. You got this.

I’d like to know more about your relationship with productivity. Let me know in the comments below!

Mindful Monday #4

Do you want to find peace of mind and learn how to deal with disappointments?

I hope by now the practice of mindfulness is becoming an ingrained aspect of your life. I’ll keep talking about the different ways in which I calibrate my mind to stay present and the thought processes that help me get going.

In today’s post, I’ll run you through certain aspects of our thinking that we should try and take control of. This includes dealing with expectations, disappointment, hope and forgiveness.

Make sure your life vest is strapped on, it’s about to get deep.

Expectations

It’s almost impossible not to have expectations. It’s an evolutionary advantage to some extent. The key then, is to be conscious of those expectations and understand when they might be flawed.

Whether you agree with me or not, you’re constantly expecting certain things to happen. When you’re hungry, you expect yourself to get food. When you’re tired, you expect yourself to get some rest. When you’re out with your friends, you expect yourself to have a great time.

Issues arise when our expectations don’t coincide with reality.

More often than not, that’s exactly what happens. The food we ordered didn’t taste as lekker as we thought it would. We couldn’t fall asleep because our minds were restless. We didn’t enjoy our outing with friends because of complicated dynamics.

Our projection of reality is a direct reflection of what’s going on inside of us. The more we’re able to accept the fact that life is unpredictable, the better we’re able to expect more realistically.

Why then, do we get disappointed so often?

Disappointments

When our minds aren’t calibrated to the way reality functions, we constantly expect outcomes that aren’t feasible. I’m not saying don’t be a dreamer or don’t have ambitions beyond your current limitations. All I’m saying is that you shouldn’t allow yourself to fall prey to the mind’s illusion.

Disappointments are essentially a result of our expectations not being met. That is completely in your control. Who else made you expect that?

It’s infuriating yet absolutely liberating. We have control over our thoughts (to a certain degree). We therefore have control over our expectations. Which ultimately means, we are in control over our disappointments.

The more we expect, the more false hope we have, the more we’re disappointed. We need to constantly bring ourselves back to the present.

Hope

What is life without hope? Despair and despondency are satan’s allies.

When life gives you lemons, you squeeze the hell out of them and make something delicious. Then, you take the seeds and plant more lemon trees, giving you more lemons to squeeze. Thanks life.

Our minds are like gardens. Every thought is a seed that will eventually bloom. When we plant seeds of hope and positivity, it results in a plethora of beautiful flowers. Hope gives us something to look forward to.

As always, we need to acknowledge the fact that now is all we have. The way to utilize hope is to take action now. Be conscious of the seeds that are being planted in your garden and put in the effort to remove thoughts which aren’t serving you.

Hope is just another form of expectation. It must therefore be realistic for it to serve you.

Do you want to know how to remove weeds from infecting your mind’s garden? Through forgiveness.

Forgiveness

Possibly one of the best things you can do for yourself. It’s a concept that absolutely develops your characters and allows you to become a beacon of mercy. When we’re able to forgive others, regardless of all the wrong they’ve done to us, our gardens start to flourish.

This is not to say that we should ignore those faults and allow people to step over us. But let go of the mental baggage. Let go of resentment. Let go of the hate, envy, grudges and toxicity.

The mental clarity and relief you obtain from forgiving others is like no other. 

Keep in mind that forgiving yourself is just as crucial. You need to accept the mistakes you make – you’re only human after all. Love yourself by being kind enough to forgive yourself. Make a definitive plan to move forward and learn from where you’ve messed up.

By now, you should see the point I’m trying to make. Most us don’t take time out to mow the lawn or get rid of alien plants. It’s up to us to take charge of our mental garden and look after it. The thoughts we have directly influence our behaviour. Our behaviour ultimately influences our mood and emotional state. This cycles back to our thoughts.

By being realistic in your expectations and understanding that life is full of disappointments, you should find solace in maneuvering through your thoughts. Hope and forgiveness are key aspects of acceptance, don’t let go of them.

Mindful Monday #2

There seems to be a lot going on in the world right now. In light of all the uncertainty, let’s remember to be mindful. In this session of Mindful Monday, I’ll talk about emotional awareness, your responsibility, exposure to information and gratitude.

I’d like to share an intriguing thought I had over the weekend. The planet is healing. Yes, the situation we’re currently in is daunting and frightening. However, there are always blessings hiding within the curses. Greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and waste dumping have all been significantly reduced.

Hmm, also randomly started thinking about The Great Depression and the 1918 flu. Quite a circular process.

We should take some time to reflect, to learn, to grow and to empathize with the world around us. Be wary of toxic productivity, understand your boundaries and focus on your blessings. Let’s relate this to Covid-19.

Emotional awareness

There’s a lot of panic, anxiety and stress amidst the chaos that’s unfolding. We need to be aware of how our emotions are unfolding. It’s critical to stay level-headed and find ‘healthy’ coping mechanisms with our circumstances.

Don’t fall prey to other people panicking. Don’t spread misinformation or be a reason for other people to panic. Watch out for fake news. Don’t be guided by fear. Stay aware of your emotional state and accept it.

It’s okay to feel worried. It’s okay to feel nervous. It’s okay to feel overwhelmed. Try to be nonjudgmental towards yourself and those around you. The more you’re able to understand what you’re going through, the better equipped you’ll be to help others.

Your responsibility

As it stands, there is no cure for the pandemic. All we can do is try to reduce its impact. That means we need to take responsibility for our hygiene, social distancing and reducing stigma.

Social distancing is one of the most effective ways of containing a pandemic. By reducing the amount of people you’re exposed to, you decrease your chances of being affected or affecting others. It’s critical to maintain high levels of sanitation and hygiene at this point, to ensure you eliminate any sources of contamination.

Stigma always seems to be the elephant in the room. We all know it exists, yet we tend to ignore it. It’s absolutely crucial that we remain supportive and kind to everyone, especially to those who are infected or prone to being sick.

Start taking this seriously and act now. Don’t wait until it’s too late.

Here’s a link to an incredible article interpreting the data and talking about your role in helping to deal with the covid-19 outbreak: https://medium.com/@tomaspueyo/coronavirus-act-today-or-people-will-die-f4d3d9cd99ca

Exposure to information

We’re living in a hyper-connected age where we’re exposed to more information in 24 hours, than people did in their entire lives around 25 years ago.

Keeping that in mind, we need to be conscious of the news we expose ourselves to. We might not immediately realize it, but after scrolling and reading a few articles our entire mood can change.

Ask yourself how much information you really need to move forward with this. We need to constantly stay up-to date, but within reasonable boundaries. Stay mindful of what your subconscious is absorbing, there’s always a lot to be thankful for.

Gratitude

The best way to deal with negativity is to focus on what is going well. It’s not always easy to shift into that frame of mind, but once you do, nothing can pull you down.

Most of us still have eyes to see, a mind to comprehend with, an eagerness to learn, a loving family, wonderful friends, food to eat and a place to stay.

Think about that more. Show your love and affection to your friends and family. (Virtually of course) Be thankful and be a source of positivity to the world around you.

It’s not easy, I know. We’ll get through this. We’ll look back at how insane things were and smile, knowing we were tough enough to survive. We’ll talk about this to our children and grandchildren one day.

Don’t lose hope. Stay mindful of what’s going on within you. Take in deep breaths and smile. Now is all you have, make the most of it.

Mindful Monday #1

Have you stopped to admire the sky today? Did you take a moment to notice how the colours on the leaves are changing? Why do we always find a way to escape the present moment?

I’m starting a little series called ‘Mindful Monday‘. I’ve been part of a similar course before, so I just thought I’d make my own version of it.

This can be a space for us to talk about certain topics every week. I’d like to talk more about what makes you mindful of yourself and how you stay present. I’ll expand on the ideas to help us all gain some better self-awareness.

Please comment on what you’d like me to discuss over the next post and what intrigued you about this one.

I also realized that we’re going to have to be willing to develop ourselves, before we are capable of helping others.

We should start appreciating what we have within our current circumstances. Understand how now is all that we have and that we should really stay mindful of our daily habits.

Later

It’s always about stressing with regards to the future. The meeting at 1 pm. The assignment due at 5 pm. The assignment starting next Monday. The gym session at 8 pm. Making something to eat when you get home. Trying to wake up at 5 am.

Tomorrow always has more to come. It somehow feels like chasing infinity.

Wondering how the 4th industrial revolution is going to change our lives. Are the machines taking over? Why is there so much AI?

Accept, plan and do one thing at a time.

History

Or it’s remembering how tough yesterday was. How exhausted we are from the intense working hours. The sly remark someone made about us. How amazing the holiday was.

All but a fiction of the imagination, playing to our current perspective of past events. Accept, learn and let go.

Breathe

It’s the easiest way to ground yourself. Take a deep breath through your lower abdomen. Do it repeatedly for like a minute and you’re bound to feel present.

It’s incredible how you can only breathe in the present moment. You can’t really breathe later, or breathe in the past. You can only breathe now.

Wouldn’t that make breathing, the essence of your life?

To stay a little more mindful, why not try and breathe with more intent. Focus on the sky for a little longer each morning. Be grateful for having yet another beautiful day. Take in a whiff of the delicious coffee. Let the piece of chocolate melt on your tongue.

We’ll get through this. It gets tough sometimes, but you’re tougher. It gets lonely sometimes, but you’re loved. It gets stressful at times, but you’re capable.

We should be eager to try our best. Without fail. Each and every day. Not being afraid of failure or criticism. Not letting the world tell us no! Just not yet.