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Life is a Chain Reaction


Life is normal

As a Brain Based Coach, I (Paula) know that having a brain means I have bias’s (yes, plural). But to be honest I do not spend that much time thinking about them.  Actually, none of us do because our brains are designed not to think about them!

When a national emergency was declared (Friday, March 13) due to COVID-19, I found myself frustrated with what I considered the over-reaction to COVID-19.  As I drove to an appointment on Saturday, I noticed that traffic was less than usual, but there was traffic. 

So, I convinced myself that all would be well. That I could live my life fairly normally, go about my business as usual. That people were over-reacting, that it’s JUST the flu.

Looking inside myself

After my errands were complete, and I was driving home, I decided to practice ‘driving mindfulness’. Eyes open of course - turning off the radio and focusing on being present. Noticing the color of the sky, the other cars on the road, the trees. Focusing on my breathing. In hindsight, I believe I was calming my nerves. I believe that I was anxious in ways that I was working very hard to ignore. 

As I found my way back to my neighborhood, I saw my husband and my daughter working in the garage. All of a sudden it occurred to me that we are an interconnected system of people. That what one of us does affects the rest. And that perhaps it is actually disrespectful to focus only on my perspective and living life my way. 

It was then that it struck me that my bias is that ‘It’s all going to be ok’.  And perhaps it is my fear of that opposite perspective, that maybe it won’t be ok, that caused my passion/anger towards my perceived ‘over-reaction’.  I am now trying to hold both. The idea that ‘It’s going to be ok’, alongside knowing that we all have to play our part to make that true. 

Why does this happen?

Bias is sometimes a loaded word.  Basically, all it means is that we have filters.  Filters we learn through life.  We all have them.  Our brain uses them to protect us.  However, sometimes filters limit what we actually see/notice.  This can have impacts we don’t consider, notice, or realize.

What are you noticing?  What else might be possible if you look around your established filters?  

Stay home.  Stay safe. Life is a chain reaction.

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