We have a chance for a better normal, not just a new one, now that more of us are getting vaccinated. When we emerge from this pandemic, we will face a world that is different. We’ll be more aware of and concerned with our environment and the impact of human activities.Â
People are rethinking the way they live, what’s important for them, and how to find meaning beyond just the next paycheck. Hence, this is the perfect time to start fresh and lead the kind of life we’ve always wanted to live. It’s time for us to make changes, say hello to new opportunities, and grow.
If you’re looking to make improvements in your life, here are some of our recommendations:
1. Spend more time offline and in the real world
Once the pandemic ends, we hope to spend more time offline. That means seeing our friends or family and making eye contact as we talk, trying something new, or exploring more of the world.
There are more benefits to putting down our phones every now and then: evidence suggests that the time we spend on our phones affects our sleep, self-esteem, relationships, memory, attention spans, and more. There’s something even more alarming: we get a spike in cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, just by seeing our phone. Imagine how much it’ll increase when we read all the negative news online!
2. Focus on staying healthy, not losing weight
We hope people can focus on being healthy and not looking a certain way. Healthy looks different on a lot of people because we have different body types and shapes. You can have your cake and eat it, too, but balance it with vegetables, fruits, grains, and other good stuff. We can still be healthy while indulging in our favorites in moderation. Remember: you deserve to eat, and you are more likely to binge if you restrict yourself.
Exercise. Drink vitamins. The pandemic taught us that there is truth to the saying that health is wealth.
3. Redefine self-care
Self-care isn’t just about budol shopping online or buying a cake and eating it all in one night. While it’s fun, it doesn’t address your issues. Self-care is creating a life you don’t need to escape from. It’s doing that thing you need to do but keep delaying: paying off debt, getting out of a toxic relationship, setting that doctor’s appointment. When we find the root cause of our anxiety and address it, the things we do to treat ourselves become a reward, not a consolation prize for the stress we go through.
4. Declutter physically and mentally
It’s time to say goodbye to things that no longer serve a purpose in our life. We have to let them go with gratitude because they have served their purpose. This concept can also be applied to intangible things: friendships that bring us down, thoughts that fill us with doubt, beliefs that are no longer acceptable today. Say thank you, bid them farewell, and watch your life spark joy, like what Marie Kondo said in The Life‑Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
5. Care for the environment
Do you remember when the air quality improved during the start of the lockdown? It’s time we take more proactive steps in caring for the environment because climate change continues to wreak havoc on the planet. There have been studies recently that say that climate change will make the world unlivable if we don’t do anything about it!
The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report states that one of the biggest contributors to the rise in global average temperatures is carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from energy generation. Hence, what we need to do is achieve decarbonization.Â
Simply put, decarbonization means reducing our carbon footprint to help the environment. An easy way to achieve this is to shift sources of energy. Through decarbonization, we can maintain a livable world for future generations.
The long-term solution is to rely totally on renewable energy, which is clean, does not harm the environment, and replenishes naturally. However, to hasten the shift to renewable energy, we need to support it with a clean fuel that is reliable, flexible, and will do less harm to the environment than coal, currently the largest energy source in the country and also the largest emitter of carbon dioxide in the energy industry.
To support renewables, coal can be replaced by natural gas, a naturally-occurring energy source that can be paired with renewable sources of energy (like solar or wind) to generate reliable power. When there is not enough power coming from renewable sources (when there’s not enough sunlight or wind), natural gas plants can provide the power in as fast as 15 minutes, helping keep the lights on. Aside from being cleaner than coal, natural gas is also able to provide support rapidly, while coal cannot.
Natural gas is environmentally friendly because it releases up to 60% less CO2 than coal. In 2020, the use of natural gas also avoided the release of 11.7 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere, the equivalent of taking 2.5 million cars off the road!Â
It’s important to note that natural gas is not a permanent solution since it’s still a fossil fuel. That being said, it’s still a great alternative as we shift to a 100% renewable energy future. First Gen is taking the first step to making natural gas more accessible for both homes and businesses. It’s affordable, reliable, and you get to do good for the environment!
What do you think? Share your thoughts below!
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