Our current times continue to present challenges in many ways for all of us. From the smaller decisions of what to purchase at a grocery store and how to do so: online, via delivery, or in-person; whether we’ll follow the guidance to wear masks; to the no-brainers of breathing in and out each day, and to the largest decisions about when to retire and other big life changes. We can say that some of these decisions are easy, whereas on others we will not reach agreement with everyone. As Eleanor Roosevelt said “In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our own responsibility”. There are crucial decisions being made by governors and legislators right now related to COVID-19, the economy and businesses, as well as protecting individuals. At this time, we are also called upon to make our own choices, and decision-making is often challenging and stressful.
Part of this stress is brought on by hearing multiple conflicting ideas about how to open a country back up, what is too soon, what is too long, how much individual health and lives should be considered versus the economy, and whose guidance should be followed in these areas. I believe, as Eleanor Roosevelt and others have said, that we are responsible to determine what is in our own or our loved ones’ best interest. Some of the decisions our leaders make we need to assess and determine what to follow and when, such as the recent ones, and ones to come, about reopening. So, I thought it was time to review a few basics on decision making.
First, get yourself in a quiet place, without distractions, and relax yourself. Hard to do in a Covid-19 world, but perhaps these steps will be taken over a period of a day or two, and that’s fine. This might be doing some meditation, prayer, deep breathing or yoga, or other ideas you might have. It’s important to have our brain available, and when we are relaxed, we have more capacity to use our full brain without it being impacted by a fight, flight, or freeze change in brain reaction.
Second, once you’ve done the above, write down what the decision is that you’re trying to make. Tie it down to one decision, after all we can’t make more than one decision at a time. Writing it down helps you to focus.
Third, do the research you need to do. For decisions about work, going out of the house, deciding whether to go to salons or restaurants, or even just whether to grocery shop versus using pick-up services, I’ve found some sources of information and am providing those here. These links provide various views so you can consider what the pros and cons are. But seek out your own sources as well.
- CDC suggestions/plan on how to reopen
- CDC guidance documents on various topics relative to COVID-19.
- Arizona Department of Health Services dashboard with statistics of what is occurring in each county in AZ.
- Arizona Department of Health Services blog by Dr. Cara Christ
- Governor Ducey’s page with the current status of things as they change.
- Governor Andrew Cuomo’s guidelines for reopening New York**
- Governor Newsome’s plan for reopening California**
**I’m providing several Governors’ plans as it will allow you to see what they are considering and that may help you in making your own decisions.
After reviewing the facts and areas to consider from the above or other information you have, the fourth step is to write down your pros and cons on choosing to take various steps, i.e.: go out to dinner vs. picking up dinner or having it delivered, going to the hair or nail salon, working in these environments and offices, and the others you’ll be faced with in the next week to months. Then if it is clear to you what you will do, be clear with yourself how you reached the decision. We can only make the best decision we can on any one day and with the information available to us. You’ll want to reassure yourself later why you made a decision if later you question it. If it is not clear, consider talking it through with your spouse, a significant other, close friend, person you respect, or trusted other. And then follow the above once your decision is made.
The fifth step, that will seem familiar to all who have studied science – from junior high forward, is to re-evaluate and make sure the decision still makes sense as you go. Feel free to change your mind if that makes sense to you later. For example, as many have suggested from a lot of entities and as we’ve seen in other countries, the numbers are going to go up as we reopen, so you may choose to change your decision if they are going up very rapidly, or begin going back down.
I ran across this in looking for a poem on choice and decision-making. And in the end, I loved the simplicity of it:
Having peace during these times is challenging – but remember that with following all the guidelines we already know from so many sources, continue to:
- Wash your hands often, with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds.
- Wear a mask in public.
- Cover your nose with a Kleenex if sneezing anywhere.
- Cover your mouth with a Kleenex if coughing.
- Socially distance keeping 6’ between you and the other person/people.
- Clean and disinfect touched surfaces regularly and throughout the day.
- Do not touch your face or wash your hands after you do.
All of these get tiring to hear about at times – but they will be essential for a long time to come. And they can provide you with peace within that you are doing all you can to protect yourself and others.
Finally, remember to take time to relax, enjoy your family around you, reach out to friends in socially distant methods, pray, meditate, and use the tools we and others have provided.
See our website for general resources.
We also have COVID-19 specific resources as well as blogs on ideas in managing these stressors.
You deserve to take care of yourself, and I encourage you to make your own decisions, and take care in all the ways you need to do so during these challenging days. We’ll be back to the regular blog again on Sunday, but I wanted you to have these thoughts earlier as things are changing rapidly.
Take care,
Dr. Beth
thewholenessinstitute 