Yes, Possible Paradigm Shifts Are Coming
By: Jeff Fox
Tags: Psychology, Social Change, Lifestyle, Self, Life

Another important truth is that while our current circumstances are profoundly changed, those changes are not THEE changes.

Changes are undeniably coming but we will not be able to make any accurate predictions or take any definitive actions until we reach the elusive and currently indeterminate ‘after’ of this crisis. It is in our cultural nature to try and plan for tomorrow, to envision a future we desire for ourselves then make plans and preparations to face the likely challenges as we pursue it. One of the most maddening aspects of our current circumstances is how it has rendered all those plans and preparations irrelevant.

An enormous and unforeseen factor has not only frozen the game it feels as if it has wiped virtually all pieces from the board while also blocking our ability to know for certain if has actually done so until some undetermined date somewhere vaguely off in the future. Talk about burying the needle on uncertainty.

As counter to our natures as it may feel one of the most helpful things we can do for our own mental health is to turn off our future-planning and goal-setting habits and practices, or at the very least turn them down to a minimal simmer.

Our most typical and trusted method of surviving through a difficult or traumatic experience is to place a goal somewhere forward on the other side of it then draw strength from it in order to persevere. Whether it is to get us through the next year, next month, next day, or next minute as long as the target has genuine value to us it works. We are able to push forward empowered by our belief that our situation ‘then’ will be different enough to bring an end to the pain we are feeling now.

It works. It is one of our most reliable tools and at the moment we don’t have any real access to it. We can’t make any reliable targets or goals for our futures because we have no idea what the actual picture will look like when we finally do reach ‘after’. We don’t know what it will look like or when we will get there only that the longer it takes us to reach it the less predictive powers we have.

If the entire planet had been able to respond like Vo, the small town in Northern Italy which was able to test its entire population then quarantine everyone with the virus thus halting the spread in its tracks, then this crisis would have played out quite differently. But with a global population of 7.7 billion people in 195 different countries there simply are not enough resources and far too many different factors and moving parts to control everything that tightly.

We do have some conditional predictive powers. We do know that once certain statistics reach certain levels for certain sustain periods we can begin to look at relaxing restrictions. The trouble is there has yet to be universal agreement about exactly what all those values need to be or, in some places, what level of government is supposed to be responsible for those decisions.

Our loss of access to long term planning and preparations does not mean, however, that we are powerless. There are choices we can make, actions we can take in the here and now which have purpose and impact. In fact, what we need to do for the sake of our mental health is also the one paradigm shift we can get started on right this moment.

Narrow The Focus To Now

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

One of the truths which bringing things to a sudden halt is now thrusting into our faces is how much of our lives we spend fixated on things out ahead of us. What began as annoyance and disappointment over cancelled events, trips, and opportunities has grown to a kind of hopeless dismay as the timeline for the retrieval of those losses has gotten longer and longer. Our angry and panicked worrying that we might never go to another concert or sporting event is in part completely understandable given the sudden weight of the very real dangers and risks which have upended everything. But it also a sign of our instincts grasping for their ever-present future targets which we have come to heavily depend on for our motivation and life satisfaction.

The cruise next spring, the concert or game in the fall, the pub on Friday night, a meal with friends or family on the weekend, dinner out at a restaurant, the friendly exchange with the barista during your daily coffee stop, sharing lunch with co-workers, there is nothing wrong with having things to look forward to. But as a society, with help from the persistent pressures of consumer culture, we have become dependent on them. Our prevailing attitude has become one of getting through what we have to do now so it can pay off later. And as soon as it does we start looking forward to the next one.

It has been very gratifying to see mental health professionals pushing back against the pressures to be productive while in isolation. It’s important to maintain activity to stave off damage to our physical and mental health but we are all facing intense stresses as result of the crisis unfolding around us. While it may be coming from a well-intended place and a reflexive surge of our ‘must keep striving’ cultural mentality it is important we don’t fall into the trap of trying to cram our current square peg into our previous round hole.

Our current situation is not ‘time away from work’. It is a different kind of work.

An important shift in thinking all this stillness can offer us is a chance to actually sit and exist with ourselves as we are now and to figure out how to find satisfaction in the current moment without any need for future dangling carrots. Not just an attitude of gratitude, though that certainly is healthy and helpful, but the realization that our lives are actually lived in the current moment. Goals and purpose are important and useful but ‘now’ is the only moment we ever truly have hold of and experience. The ability to find value and contentment in that is truly priceless.

We all need purpose in our lives and for the vast majority of us this has revolved around career paths, aspirations, and relationships. In order to feel a part of something, which is crucial to our sense of self and wellbeing, we need to have some sense of where we are going and what role we are playing.

In our current crisis we all still have roles to play and purposes we can invest our time and energies in. For most of us our best contribution to the battle to control the virus is staying home, definitely easier for some than others. We need to set aside the one, five, and ten year plans for now and focus doing what we need to enable us to sustain safe isolation. From financial concerns, to supplies, to whatever methods are most effective for you to maintain your mental and physical health during a trying and traumatic time.

For those who are working in essential spaces, doing so safely is a dual partner in that mission. What you are doing is playing a major role in other people being able to do their part, which is vital and immensely appreciated work, but your safety and mental health is still just as crucial if not even more so. Work has changed from being a forward looking path to ‘this is what I need to do today’ type of mentality which is all it needs to be. Focus on today. You can focus on tomorrow tomorrow.

And for those working in front-line health care spaces the same paradigm applies. There are those who are working on getting you the things you need for tomorrow and the day after that but you can only be responsible for the patients in front of you today. Tomorrow’s needs will come tomorrow, narrow the focus and do what you need to do in order to deal with today.

It’s not about giving up or being reckless, the human mind and soul can just only carry so much at one time. We have developed a cultural impulse to carry the coming days, months, and years around with us at all times. It is draining and distorting at the best of times. Rather than leave that impulse twisting and churning trying to set targets in the ephemeral smoke of our uncertain future we need to set it aside and truly focus our attentions and energies on our current moment.