By Mark Kaplan / March 13, 2020
Everything should shut down as the short history of virus spread has proven to be the most appropriate practice. The only way to contain it which is too late is to isolate and mitigate it.
Everyone is paranoid and stressed. These are the feelings created by cortisol, adrenaline, and norepinephrine. This is a brand new phenomena and most of us have not experienced it, but other infected countries are already seeing the spread slow down.
When You Are Given Lemons
So now we are going to spend more time at home. This is an opportunity to develop some great personal practices. We can spend time learning and creating. If there is something you have wanted to learn or an art you have wanted to begin, this is the time.
It is a time to share what we know because others will also be at home looking to the digital media to learn and entertain themselves. The most positive reason to learn and create is they create happiness brain chemicals to counter-balance the stress.
Learning, creating, contributing stimulate dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. Our intentions, our actions, and reveling in our progress create feelings of contentment with our growth. The biological reason is Nature wants us to pursue “survival opportunities’ for which she rewards us with happiness.
Get in Physical Shape
There are two good reasons. Exercise can stimulate endorphins, one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs. There are exercises you can do in the living room like stretching, yoga, or cardio. Youtube and Google are loaded with sites and videos.
Get outdoors and ride a bike, run, or walk. The only restrictions for the virus are to stay distant from others. I will stop going to the gym but I ride a bike and surf. I will also increase my indoor stretching and do pushups.
Eat Better
Can’t say that you don’t have time to prepare healthy meals. You may have all the time in the world. My normal diet is oatmeal, fruit, greens, rice, beans, and protein powders. I consume very little sugar and I drink lots of green tea and water.
We want to be healthy and build our immunity system. This is our best defense after, evidently, washing our hands. This virus might visit us every year in some form, so this is a good time to start developing very healthy habits.
Looking Into the Future
This world could get more internet and digital based. It might be a good time to learn skills commensurate with communicating on the internet. There will be a need for good writing, website skills, social media understanding, and every service that now requires people to work in an office.
A good defense might be a good offense. This is a time we could start thinking about what we could do if the world changes. I have been writing books and creating online courses and now I will spend more time learning how to market them. Is there something you could learn to teach? Is there an area of skills that might be practical if we spend more time working remotely?
Read Habits of a Happy Brain by Loretta Graziano Breuning Ph.D
Read The Good Life Plan by Mark Kaplan See Excerpts
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