David E. Rosenberg, Jian Wang, Moazzam Rind, Mahmuder Rahman
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Utah Water Research Lab, Utah State University
Quicklink: https://tinyurl.com/PostiveMind
Note: This post and any future posts in the series will focus on positive responses to Coronavirus and COVID-19. There will always be a link to Utah and western water, but sometimes the link may be small.
During the recent weeks of doing our water modeling work from home full time, these simple acts have helped us build and grow a more positive mindset to sustain and expand our physical distance from others.
- Thank people. For the big, small, silly, mundane or anything. Thank in the moment. Thank days or weeks later. Thank.
- Reach out and connect. To family, friends, coworkers, and others. By any communication mode. Ask how they are doing, coping, and what they look forward to. Listen to their response.
- Likewise check in with others. Share where you are at, how you are doing, coping, and what you look forward to.
- We can be more physically distant and still build stronger social and digital connections.
- Think long term. What do you look forward to tomorrow next week, next month, this summer and fall? Start planning to make that happen.
- Take breaks as needed. For as long as you need. Especially take breaks from digital devices.
- Sleep. Sleep is nature’s ultimate digital break!
- Try new things. A new hobby. New activity. New book. New technology. A new way to approach work, acquire information, or connect with others. #CoronaLearning
- Devote the increasingly scarce time when you have focus to the things you love and that bring you joy.
- Think about what others are going through or experienced. I face this global pandemic in 2020 not 1918. We have many more tools and technologies to connect and build positive mindsets.
- Give. Donate. Help. Support. Love. Care. Share. With no expectation for return.
- Identify and focus on the things you can control — your routine, relationships with others, future decisions. As much as possible, tune down or out everything else.
- Laugh. Cry. Smile. Dance. Sing. Invent. Be creative.
- Move. Stretch. Walk. Hop. Zenga. Total-Bar. Pilades. Yoga. Workout videos.
- Celebrate accomplishments, trivial or larger. Celebrate with others.
- Celebrate other’s accomplishments. Share other’s accomplishments widely.
- Practice @NAMI’s 10 principles of support https://namica.org/nami-principles-of-support/. Our favorite principle: We will never give up hope.
- Prepare–mentally and physically–that things will get worse, possibly much worse, before they get better.
- Build and grow our collective #PositiveMindset even as we become more physically distant.
Use the comments section below. We will respond as we can.
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