Written by: Hoda Elsobky, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
A reflection pop up into my mind since the very first day of the Lockdown. The COVID-19 and me: Everybody should ruminate with that. How was I before and after the hit of the Coronavirus? Am I the same person, or in other words, will I ever be the same person again. We have been sitting at home significant time, and never in our age will we have this chance again, yes a chance! Moreover, never will we be given this opportunity again.
People have been four times more active at home than ever. They have been studying, earning Certificates, working from home, exercising, trying new recipes. They have been meditating, contemplating, reading books, watching documentaries, watching movies. Most importantly, People have sat with their families more than any other time, people have called their parents, who are distanced from them more than any other time.
We have been messaging friends, interacting with them, we have used all available technology just to be there and to connect with one another. Above all, most elderly were enthusiastic to catch up with the new technology and means of communication, in order to stay connected with their children and grandchildren through zoom meetings, and other virtual platforms. Same exactly we all did to be up to date with remote work requirements, from digital transformation and online Market to presence in the new virtual world, simply we all updated our technical skills; and yes, the Virus proved to be a tough teacher, and we learnt the hard way!
Who said Social Distancing?
Who said “Social Distancing”, was wrong. It is only physical distance, we connected with each other like no other time. I would say, it was a social approach, a social closeness and an overall sense of Connection, Compassion and Empathy. We are wired to be social, and it is Scientifically proven that our connections with other people are instrumental to our happiness.
Research links social connections to Happiness, and social isolation to Pain. Very happy people tend to have rich and satisfying relationships and they spend little time alone, versus the average level of Happy people. This also has to do with the level and quality of connections with other people.
Brene-Brown once stated that: ”Connection is why we are here, it is what gives us meaning and Purpose in life”.
A milestone study at Harvard University followed 268 men for their entire lives, to assess why some of them turned to be happier than others. It uncovered evidence that success in relationships was strongly tied to Mental, Physical and Economic well-being. The bottom line is that we are social human being, and our tendency towards connections and friendships activates the Oxytocin level ( The Happiness Hormone) in our bodies and counterattacks stress.
To sum it up, the virus has defined a more humane world, we learnt that to be safe, other people should be safe. It has given us the vigorous Alert of how to take care of our mental, physical and emotional health, and to consider that as our number one priority and furthermore to take it seriously! We learnt how to stay hydrated, how to eat well, how to have efficient night sleep, how to exercise, how to work hard on eliminating stress and leading a healthy lifestyle, to enhance and increase our immunity system; and all this was done from the comfort of our home.
You can buy her book "Dare to happy" here!
Read more about Hoda:
Hoda Elsobky, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Hoda was born in Cairo, Egypt. Graduated from the American University in Cairo in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majored in Economics and minor in Business Administration. Later, She received her MBA in Marketing. Her greatest interest lies in the fields of philosophy and positive psychology, with a focus on self help and wellness. Above all, she is passionated about happiness as a way of living! She have worked in multinational IT companies in Egypt, like IBM and Oracle, in sales, marketing and business development capacity, from 1994 till 2005. At that point she flew with her husband to live in Vienna for three years and then to Dubai. There she discovered her passion for writing.
