Head
We must be thoughtful about our health and decisions to be made about the actions we take in adjusting to the new realities we are facing. The behavioral economists suggest that we slow down our thinking during times of stress and crisis. This means we must first recognize that we are not confronting a healthcare puzzle that somehow has a simple, one dimensional solutions. Rather, we are facing a health care problem which comes with many connected parts and can be seen from many different perspectives. We offer an essay on this website that concerns the differences between virus related puzzles, problems and mysteries.
Many of the actions we would like to take contradict one another. There are costs to weight against the benefits at each turn. Secondly, we must make a decision to take action in the midst of this state of confusion and contradiction. We can’t remain frozen in place. We might make the wrong decision, but can learn from this wrong decision and adjust our actions. We know from studies of trauma and stress, that inaction (freezing in place) is harmful to our body and our psyche. We offer several essays on this website related to the way we make decisions and learn from our actions.
Third, we must share our plans with those around us so that they can adjust their own plans. Better yet, the planning is a collaborative venture, with the potential confusion and contradiction being shared with our family and colleagues—often yielding an even better decision and one that honors the life and concerns of those around us. Greater social distance between people does not mean a distance in the extent to which we care for one another’s welfare. We offer several essays on this website about the crucial conversations that need to take place in our collaboration and planning with loved ones and work partners.