The pandemic demanded a lot from us. And now we’re facing the war in Ukraine. Five personal lessons from the pandemic years have become important to me, and they help me now, too, in the face of the war in Ukraine, to take a positive stance among the people around me.
#1 Limit your media consumption
I limit my media consumption enough that I don’t slide into “tunnel vision.” It’s good to be informed, but you don’t have to know every opinion and every detail or “bombard” yourself with the topic nonstop. It doesn’t help anyone if you let a topic take over completely and end up discouraged or indifferent as a result.
#2 Don’t unsettle children
I don’t want to unsettle my children with my own questions or worries. The topic isn’t hidden, and I explain as much as they can understand. But they should sense from the way their parents act that they are safe and secure. My worries shouldn’t become their worries.
#3 Reduce fear and offer encouragement
Apart from donating money, I probably can’t change or contribute all that much to this crisis. But I can encourage two or three people in my circle who don’t process events like this so easily and who are afraid, and help them find their way out of tunnel vision.
#4 Hold back on simplistic statements
I hold back on know-it-all, simplistic and provocative statements about the topic. We have elected people in positions of responsibility, and they make decisions on the basis of better information. Despite everything I see on Twitter and other media, my horizon is limited, and it sees only what it’s meant to see.
#5 We need people of hope
In times like these, we need people who have hope, composure and confidence. I want to be someone like that, and to become someone like that.
