A chance to tap into our better selves
There is no question whether this pandemic and period of isolation and deprivation will change us. The question is whether it will change us into better versions of ourselves, or the opposite of that.
Posted — UpdatedI lay in bed, tired in a good way. I knew that if I picked my phone back up, I would disappear down the rabbit hole of one shocking new development after another, only to find it was nearing midnight and it would take me awhile to fall into a restless sleep.
With all of this time suddenly on our hands, how do we tap into our wiser selves at tiny decision points like the one I had last night? Maybe part of the answer is noticing what happens when we don’t?
Every year, sixty percent of Americans set New Year’s Resolutions. There’s nothing more emboldening than starting off in a gallop towards a new goal with a clean slate. 66 days, research tells us, is the magic number to convert a behavior into a habit. Eighty percent of us quit around Day 40.
If we in North Carolina were to count the restrictions Governor Cooper put in place on March 14, when the 26th case was confirmed, that would put us at Day 11. More restrictions have been put in place since then and I imagine more are still to come.
Is there some way we can couple these necessary external constraints, with renewed internal hopes, dreams and goals?
The photo that accompanies this post is of a succulent in my kitchen window. How remarkable that that miniscule stem with a flower on the end has grown over a dozen times the length of its base. Oh, the lengths we will go to reach towards what is light and warm and good.
There is no question whether this pandemic and period of isolation and deprivation will change us. The question is whether it will change us into better versions of ourselves, or the opposite of that.
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