Why The Pandemic Is Kicking Our Ass
Getting through Covid safely and successfully has required unprecedented effort from all of us. The pandemic has resulted in many changes in how we live, how we work, how we socialize and generally, how we interact as humans. It is particularly interesting because as a specie, we have only ever been focused on One Thing – our survival. It would seem commonsensical then, that we would do what we needed to do to survive this! So, why are so many people unwilling to acquiesce to the seemingly simple instructions necessary to curb the spread of Covid-19? Is it that people just don’t care, don’t believe what’s going on, don’t understand, are confused by the mixed messages they are receiving or are they just plain ASSES? Maybe some of this is true and maybe there is another reason.
The Motivational Triad
In primitive times, our focus on survival meant seeking pleasure, avoiding pain and exerting the least amount of energy. These three (3) functions make up the ‘Motivational Triad’.
We used our brains to:
Find food, have sex, seek shelter to keep warm and safe – all to experience pleasure which released dopamine in our brains. This left us wanting more and more of those pleasures.
Hunt and keep us safe from attacks and to escape our enemies – all to avoid pain, hunger and death.
Expend energy only on activities that gave us the biggest returns for our efforts – finding fueling foods that had high energy nutrients.
If we were able to do these things, we were successful.
Today, our society and our needs are far more complex. To succeed, we have to use our brains for different things like reasoning, planning, strategizing, prioritizing, solving problems etc. This means that we have to be willing to:
delay our pleasures
experience pain and discomfort
expend our energy by taking massive action
Covid-19 has been kicking our asses because it is so much easier to do what we’ve always done. The pull of our primitive brain.
Wearing masks, staying away from crowds and social distancing is not our normal patterns of behavior. It deprives us from our pleasures (hanging/going out with friends etc.), it is uncomfortable (talking and breathing with something covering more than half our faces) and this in itself requires extra effort.
How do we overcome ourselves to ensure survival and the fulfillment of our goals today, especially during this pandemic?
Lets,
Exercise patience, as we seek to change the habits that we have developed
Build some self-awareness around where our thoughts and actions work against our best interest
Develop a plan around our thoughts and actions to keep ourselves on track. This may require you getting some help or guidance through coaching, to stay accountable and to ensure that you are moving towards your goals.
If you want to hear more about the Motivational Triad and how to manage your thoughts so that you can achieve the goals you want in your life, schedule a consultation with me now and let’s start the process of getting back on track for the last time.
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I’m Nadine Seaga and I’m a Life & Leadership Coach, Founder & Chief Energy Officer (CEO) of People Development Consultants. I can help you to harness your full potential and the full potential of your most valuable asset! Check out more of my website here at pdconsults.com for more information or shoot me an email at nadine@pdconsults.com to connect and get started on this life-changing work.