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7. How to Train the Younger Generation for the Post-Pandemic World

On this World Mental Health Day, Kavyal Sedani, Founder of Rise Above, talks about how to become better role models in handling crisis so that the younger generation can watch and learn. There is nothing that a healthy mind-set cannot deal with. But the nourishment for a stable mind, comes from the gardens of our home and upbringing.

Let's face it! The world is never going to be the same again! For the better or worse, only time will tell us.

But this pandemic taught us things we would have never learnt otherwise. It's an irony that we learn the basics of life only after creating immense trouble for ourselves. We learn to breathe after we suffer diabetes, blood pressures and cancers. We learn to eat right after suffering obesity and lifestyle diseases. It's true that humans grow only in the face of threat. We need something to push us out of our stagnant comfort zones, even though it may be the comfort zones of our bad habits or traumas. We never grow when we are comfortable.

History is proof that human beings learnt to live in caves when they were being eaten up alive in the jungles. We learnt hygiene after we started dying of sickness because of eating and defecating in the same place. We learnt to cooperate with each other after we were getting lost in jungles alone.

We are wired for difficulty! So be it!

But there is always grace in every situation no matter how bad it looks. The pandemic shook us out of our "take everything for granted" attitude and got us to appreciate the smaller things in life. It gave us time to reflect on what's truly important, while we had dedicated our lives to the frills and fancies so we could show off on social media. It showed us the vulnerability of our own existence while we were rarely looking at each other's faces.

Now we long to see another face and yet the faces are covered with masks. We can all evolve as a more enriched race now if we take our lessons and tattoo them in our heads and hearts. Most importantly, we need to train our children into handling the fragility and the reality of the world which will follow:

• Our kids need to be soldiers for the environment now. We have pushed mother nature to its brink and only with the help of the future generations can we afford survival.
• "Inclusion" is the new virtue. We have learnt that we are not alone. And there is nothing that happens at one corner of the world which will not impact another. Treating others, the way you would like to be treated yourself, is a huge lesson.
• The luxury of being selfish and thinking only about us is no more affordable. Following the ancient principle of "Ubuntu” which means 'I am because we are', could truly enrich the lives of the coming generations.
• Sensitivity towards others, being a soldier for mental and emotional health, being able to be strong in the face of crisis, are the new medals and certificates we should chase. Compassion, a higher emotional quotient and a well-practiced adversity quotient is what is going to bring the world some respite now.
• We have tried flaunting our possessions on social media, and seen where we landed up, now let's turn the spotlight onto our ability to give and share. The dopamine that kicks out of sharing is incomparable.
• Flexibility is the top skill we are going to need. We constantly chase certainty in an uncertain world, and that is the reason for the anxiety and depressions. If we can learn to be flexible, we will save ourselves a lot of grief and grow effortlessly.
• Clean eating, upping our immunity, regular exercise are no brainers. There is no way out without them.

Lastly, knowing that this is not the last pandemic in our lives, if we can become better role models in handling crisis, they will watch us and learn. There is nothing that a healthy mind-set cannot deal with. But the nourishment for a stable mind, comes from the gardens of our home and upbringing.