Page 4 - Dainfern Precinct Living 9 2020

FROM THE EDITOR

THE POWER

OF POSITIVE

THINKING

hrough the seven months of In a similar way,
lockdown that we’ve had to endure, schools and
one of the dynamics that most of us other educational
Thave missed is the ability to network institutions have
and collaborate face-to-face in groups. For had to face the
think tanks, workshops and team building, challenges of
one can only achieve so much online. It’s keeping children
those informal chats during the breaks that motivated and
give one the opportunity to bounce random up to date with
ideas around, as well as catch up on what their lessons. The
else is going on, that are missing. structure of the
school day was something that the kids mental health in shape. With so much having
It appears that many corporates have either loved or hated, but regardless, been taken away, what other options can we
changed their employment strategies suddenly that all evaporated. No sport. No turn to, to help us cope?
drastically. Initially, the working at home extramurals. Limited opportunities to forge
measures were enforced as a survival tool. new friendships. Limited exposure to the In this issue, Dr Ilse Ruane takes a look
But now, many of those companies that have outdoors. Lots of gaming and lots of movies. at one facet of mental health that she has
resorted to that strategy are considering Substantially reduced social contact. applied to the subject of tackling exams. She
making the arrangement permanent and talks about having a negative mindset vs a
looking to downscale their office space. And that’s a problem as, largely, the homo positive mindset. Staying positive is more
However, the repercussions of not being able sapiens (Latin for ‘wise man’) species is a than half the battle won, she says.
to gather in groups in real time have not yet sociable species that tends to congregate
emerged. There are also questions raised in communities. The enforced restriction of Here’s some advice that I heard recently,
by Human Resources specialists about data social contact has brought into focus many that touches on the same subject:
security and the occupational health and issues surrounding mental health. That
safety issues related to the work-from-home socially-correct question that we ask without “One thing that helps when it comes to being
environment, for example, if an employee thinking whenever we meet someone we positive, is to look at the bigger picture and
working at home is injured during working know – how are you? – has taken on a take a longer term view of the situation.
hours, what are the implications for the new, sinister meaning. Now, there’s an Then zoom back in to concentrate on the
employer? Enforcing discipline, monitoring undercurrent – I hope you are well. I worry immediate challenges. Ask yourself, what’s
the employees’ working hours, checking the that you might not be well. the worst thing that can happen in these
quality of the work done, and encouraging circumstances? If things go awry, what’s my
cohesive team efforts are all facets of So many of us rely on routines, social Plan B? What will happen if I ‘fail’?
management that will be impacted as well. gatherings and sport as ways to keep our
Have a plan in place for your recovery. If
you know there are options and you’ve
considered and decided on a recovery
plan should you need to resort to one,
you’ll suddenly find you’re not so stressed.
That then frees up more energy so that
you can tackle the task ahead of you more
competently.”

On that note, we would like to wish all
students writing exams the best of luck. Stay
positive. Stay strong. Stay safe and stay
well.

Warm regards,

Ann

Ann Arnott
EDITOR
annar@nowmedia.co.za

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