Opting for positives in times of crisis

Thoughts affect actions and actions affect behaviours
By Morgan Hannah, Life & Style Editor

It’s 2020 and the way we do things has now changed, likely for a long time coming. Covid-19 has breathed a sense of fear into each one of our days and nights. Of course, that sounds a bit more dramatic than is necessary—each of us experiences this pandemic in our own way but experience it we all do. I, admittedly, didn’t handle the situation too well in the beginning when news channels and social media laid out the details, having had many of my plans fall through and many uncertainties creep in, but with time, we have learned that life must go on and so it is better and easier to live our lives with a more positive outlook than with negativity and a taxing frown.

Decades of research shows that positivity is a potent health tonic, with studies showing that a brighter outlook on life leads to improved mental and physical health, as well as more opportunities tapping us on the shoulder. Additionally, opting for positivity has the benefit of a swifter recovery from prolonged stress and traumatic events.
On that note, Covid-19 in a weird way could be considered a gift… you know, if many people weren’t dying and getting sick. Maybe this is a time where we all need to sit back and think on our lives, maybe it’s time to consider what changes are due to make the most of our lives. In fact, there’s a meme going around that states: “Kinda feels like the Earth just sent us all to our rooms to think about what we’ve done.”

If we bounce back to positive thinking, the Earth might be benefitting from all of us spending a bit more time indoors these days. And we might be benefitting from it, too—more family time, more one-on-one with our pets, and more keeping in touch via Zoom calls to our relatives and friends. Covid-19 has forced us to decide what is important to us and what can we not live without, it has given us time to focus on our hobbies and true passions rather than just working on autopilot. At least, it’s given me that time. Sure, there’s the financial stress that an uncertain future and work layoffs brings about, but there’s also time off from the hustle and bustle of life as we knew it. And I don’t know about you, but I choose to use this time to focus more on my writing and my family, I choose to think as positivity as I can because it’s simply easier to do so.