Outside the Box Wednesday 13th May 2020
A newsletter helping the Box Hill School community stay together, stay informed and stay happy.
Uncertain times Boris Johnson’s weekend announcement seems to have provoked more questions than it answered. Although it seems a safe bet that over the coming weeks, lockdown will ease, we do not yet know what this will look like and how it will affect us.
Great Minds Don’t Think Alike
Uncertainty can be difficult to deal with. The human brain is essentially a prediction engine; constantly taking clues from its surroundings to try to figure out what is going to happen and therefore how best to act so as to maximise personal rewards. However, when no clear path presents itself, and even worse when a person feels like whatever they choose their actions will have no effect, hopelessness can set in. Excess concern for events that have not yet happened are what we call ‘anxiety’ and can cause significant harm to a person, physically as well as mentally.
Daily Wellbeing Tasks Take time today to just be – sit comfortably, breathe and try to focus your mind on the present moment Progressive overload – constantly push yourself out of your comfort zone. If you ran for 10 minutes last week, aim for 15 by the end of this. Read a book – doesn’t matter what, just something you love Offer your help to someone else
This is why it is helpful to focus on those things about which we are more certain and try as hard as possible to accept that uncertainty itself is not to be feared. Will this lockdown come to an end? Yes. Will you be able to see your friends and family again? Yes. Will life return to ‘normal’? Probably not; but this might be a good thing rather than a bad thing! Could it be that as a society we will have an increased respect for the fantastic work the NHS and other key workers (including teachers?) do for society? Might our communities become closer, our relationships stronger, as a result of the slowing down of the pace of life? Might education adapt more to the changes that have, out of necessity, been forced upon it by the virus, new technologies and updates in pedagogical research? Finally, optimism. The simple act of finding positives and expressing gratitude for them can reduce stress and increase wellbeing. Find something to be grateful for!