How to Start a Pandemic of Positivity
Hi Everyone,
I hope you’re all staying home, staying healthy and finding ways to cope with this crazy situation in which we find ourselves. Here is another post from me in an attempt to help us find ways to navigate this difficult time.
This past weekend I was part of a zoom conference call to help a relative in Vancouver, Canada celebrate his birthday. Given how little actual social contact (outside of my family) I’ve had in the last week or two it was quite refreshing to interact with and joke with a number of relatives from both the USA and Canada. The call began around 6:30 PM and lasted just past 7 PM and at 7 PM my Canadian relatives shared with us their neighbors’ coming out into their yards and porches banging kitchen pots and pans, honking their horns and the boats in the harbor in the distance blowing their fog horns as a way of connecting with others and creating a sense of community during this difficult time. I loved that idea and will now do the same thing from my home starting tonight. This is the kind of connection I recommend that you seek out during this difficult time and the very kind of thing that the blog post I’m sharing with you today is designed to promote.
There are a few other bloggers whose work I follow regularly and one of my favorites is Eric Barker and his blog goes by the unusual name of bakadesuyo.com. Just this morning he posted an article which I found comforting, helpful and a bit inspiring and I thought I’d share it. Here are some of his introductory comments:
“Viruses aren’t the only things that spread through networks of people...Attitudes and behaviors do too...A network can perpetuate anything in it: not just fads, fashion, and trends, but happiness, unhappiness, kindness and cruelty can also spread like a disease...happiness is more contagious than unhappiness. It’s the scientific version of karma. A network can spread a virus — but it can also spread happiness, help, gratitude and optimism...So what if we start our own “pandemic” and use it to fight the current one? ...we need to stay positive, optimistic and hopeful to keep fighting this. We need to help each other. We need to protect our health, but to do that we have to protect our mental health, our spirit and soul to stay resilient. So let’s start our own pandemic of positive emotions to keep our spirits strong for the battle ahead. We’ll fight fire with fire. We’ll spread connection, help, gratitude and optimism. And we’ll win.”
At the end of the post he offers a brief summary of his suggestions for how to start a ”Pandemic of Positivity” (I have taken some liberty to cut and paste the sections I thought most useful):
Spread Connection: Just let people know you’re thinking of them and they are meaningful to you...Reach out and tell people you’re thinking of them. We have the most powerful communication tools ever known to man at our fingertips, for free, 24/7. COVID-19 needs face-to-face contact to spread. Our pandemic of positivity doesn’t...We have the advantage.
Spread Help: Offer help where you can and ask for it if you need it...Spread help. Spread word that you’re helping to encourage others to help. And ask for help where you need it. Keep the lines of communication flowing so that we can all be getting what we need right now.
Spread Gratitude: Say thanks. And really feel it...Gratitude is the undisputed heavyweight champ of happiness...the more a person is inclined to gratitude, the less likely he or she is inclined to be depressed, anxious, lonely, envious or neurotic.
Spread Optimism: If the cost of being wrong is low, let yourself believe things will turn out right...Research shows being optimistic increases happiness, health, resilience and even luck. (Yes, luck — because optimism boosts openness which leads to new opportunities that don’t happen when you say no to everything.)...And spread that positivity. The resilience-boosting effects of optimism are so strong the US military implemented a plan to teach optimistic thinking to soldiers. And we could all use a little extra resilience right now.
Once again the above is just my summary of Eric Barker’s post and even though it’s a bit long (over 3500 words), I recommend reading the full article. He has some good things to say.
I hope you find this post helpful and I’m always open to feedback so let me know what you think. Hang in there, stay safe and don’t forget to wash your hands.
Best,
Dr Bob