How Showering Less Helps with Social Distancing and Clearer Thinking in a Crisis

Of course, showering less may help with social distancing, but how does it help with clearer thinking in a crisis?

Stick with me… you’ll get the connection

Back to the subject at hand, have you had your shower yet? C’mon, you can tell me. We’ve got adequate social distancing here.

Now, how about your teeth? Brushed ‘em yet? Oh… you lost your toothbrush, did you?

Can you tell, this week I’m trying to lighten it up a bit? We’ve all had a long stretch that keeps getting longer and we could use a lighter touch. 

Don’t worry, I’ll be stirring in a little powdered broccoli into the dessert for good measure. You won’t notice a thing… and pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.

I have another question for you…

Don’t you find some of this liberating in a weird sort of way?

Doesn’t it feel at least feel good to simply stop worrying about some of those everyday requirements that life normally inflicts upon us?

Showers, haircuts, roots, shaving, nails, nose hairs, outdoor clothes, and other social ‘obligations’… 

Sure, there are a whole slew of new worries to upset our lost state of normal. You know them well…

• Washing your hands every 10 minutes
• Not touching your face
• Not picking your nose (we’re serious this time)
• Disinfecting and sanitizing everything in sight
• Maintaining that safe distance, and…
• Just wearing a damn mask!

But think about this for a moment, you’re getting to say, “hell no!” to a lot of crap. One more time…

You’re getting to say, “hell no!” to a lot of crap.

Let me ask you, have you taken a pause just to process what’s going on? Of course, you’re thinking about it. We’re all thinking about it. But, have you taken some time just to ponder the situation? To clear your thinking about the crisis?

What do I mean by ponder the situation?

You know, think it through. Get your arms around the whole thing. Get your arms around the fact that for college and major league sports, two of the biggest money-makers on the planet, to be shut down completely… the situation is real.

Don’t try to do this level of contemplation all cooped up at home. This calls for a long, quiet walk alone (yes, with proper distancing) and without anything else but your thoughts.

No phone. Tunes. Podcasts. No books on tape. You and your thoughts. That’s it.

While you’re doing your pondering, keep this in mind…

It’s never black or white. It’s always some black, some white and a lot of shades of grey in between.”

—Ian Brodie, marketing consultant

Nice! You went on that walk… I wasn’t sure you would.

Did you get some fresh air? Let your mind wander? Did you begin to think about other things? Were you able to think more clearly?

Good… that was the idea… now, do more of that.

I read a fascinating article about how we humans think during a crisis due to high levels of uncertainty and complexity. (See “Four Ways People Process Information During a Crisis” here).

• Due to information overload, we oversimplify messages often omitting important parts
• Crisis recommendations can seem counterintuitive, so we hold onto our beliefs instead
• We look for additional information and opinions that confirm our beliefs before taking action
• When new information becomes available, we tend to believe the first message we heard

What’s the point? I’m not sure any of us are able to fully process the breadth of the situation. The best we might be able to do is get more comfortable with not completely understanding. But knowing what we were sure of two weeks ago may have changed since then.

And if we allow it, our understanding will likely change a few more times

Then, by doing our little, but mammothly* important part to help each other, we’ll see our way through to the other side.

Yes, it’s looking like a long road ahead… but it’s going in the right direction. Clearer thinking in a crisis is essential to seeing this through.

Be safe. Be well. Sanitize. And be untucked.

* Yes, I know mammothly isn’t a word, but it sounds more believable than bigly which is a real word.

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