Why Are We So Bent on Breaking the Rules?
Try to think of exactly how your decisions would impact the people closest to you
This week is officially my second week of working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For many others across the globe, it might be week seven or eight or even more. For those individuals, they may have already accepted this lifestyle as the new normal, but for me, I’ve only recently come around.
However, despite the jarring evidence and the rapid growing numbers, there are still a vast majority of people who are refusing to accept this reality as their own; they are refusing to believe that this is the new normal.
For those individuals, they’re continuing to proceed with their lives as if nothing is wrong. They’re actively choosing to ignore health and government officials’ instructions and break the rules that were set in place by those officials. And unfortunately, that is going to be our downfall throughout this health crisis.
I live in the Greater New York City area—currently one of the most infected areas in United States. And the other day, as I stretched my legs for a quick two-mile run by myself around my neighborhood, I noticed that there were still a pretty significant number of people who were outside mingling and seemingly un-phased by the existing situation.
I saw parents playing with their kids at the playground, within close proximity of other parents and their kids (definitely less than six feet apart). I saw people playing soccer and basketball with each other on the blacktop of the middle school just a few blocks from my apartment. I saw groups of individuals congregating, eating together, sitting near each other, despite the instructions to social distance themselves.
And, here I was. Running by myself, as instructed — which makes me wonder, why are we so keen on breaking the rules especially in times of crisis like this? And exactly what kind of point are we trying to make?
Ask yourself, who is benefiting from my actions?
As humans, often times we make decisions based on our own personal interests and gains. We consider the different outcomes and typically put ourselves first when it comes to who our decision is benefiting the most.
And that makes sense.
After all, it is our lives and we are allowed to make choices that benefit ourselves and produces the most happiness for ourselves. But, at the same time, we also have to consider that there could be other parties at stake. Our decisions inevitably do cause a ripple effect on everything and everyone around us. And collectively, that could yield extreme consequences in the long run. We just don’t know what they are yet.
Try to think of exactly how your decisions would impact the people closest to you
Try this. Think of the five people whom you care about the most in this world — your Mom, your Dad, your siblings, your friends, maybe even your coworkers. Now, imagine that your decisions directly affect them in the same exact way that they would affect you.
Would you then make that same decision?
Imagine that by going outside, you are one hundred percent guaranteed to contract the virus. Now, imagine that by going outside, your best friend is also one hundred percent guaranteed to contract the virus. I assume (or at least, I hope) that your mindset would change when you think of it that way.
This is how each and every one of us has to think in a crisis like the one that we’re in. We have to assume that every action will directly impact the closest people in our lives. If we re-position our decisions based on that mindset, then maybe we wouldn’t be making the same choices. Maybe we’d be making better choices.
Ask yourself, how am I helping the situation?
When we break the rules or when we defy authority or when we just flat out don’t want to comply with people around us, it’s almost always because of some personal vendetta. However, instead of making it a personal vendetta, try to make yourself the hero of the story.
Instead of acting in your own personal interests, try spinning the narrative and acting in a way where you could make things better, not just for yourself, but for everyone else as well. Ask yourself how you could produce the most good out of the situation for all parties involved.
If we stop thinking on such an individualistic level and shift towards a holistic level, then maybe, just maybe, we’ll be able to make a positive change together.
This, of course, isn’t the first time that a health crisis like COVID-19 has forced all nations around the globe to come together. And this likely won’t be the last. So, we have to proactively step up and do our part in making sure that we all do what is needed to produce the most positive outcomes for every single person. If we don’t, then it will only cause more suffering and more agony to people who we may even know personally.
