The FT’s Tim Harford wrote about a bicycle accident he suffered recently and I was particularly taken by how he turned a bad experience on it’s head, to see the good in people and feel grateful for our NHS, as well as learn lessons along the way. Here’s a summary of what he wrote:
1. People really do look out for each other in a crisis.
Several people ran to his rescue and even after the professionals had arrived, everyone who passed stopped to offer help, even when we’ve been asked to keep social distancing.
2. How impressively a healthcare system can perform when there’s some slack.
Even when the NHS was focused on treating Covid-19 cases and preventing the spread of the virus, he was able to be taken care of quickly and efficiently. This led him to argue for more flexibility and spare capacity to see patients promptly in the future. I completely agree, we must continue to invest in our NHS.
3. You can change your plans even those that are set in stone.
Like him, I regularly rely of my wife, family and friends to remind me of this. Here he brings up something I too have been thinking about alot in lockdown:
“[…] we will all have to keep rethinking and adapting. Those people who are the quickest to adjust, whether by temperament or by sheer happenstance, are the most likely to flourish.”
4. Count your blessings.
Which he describes as “the simplest, the most familiar, the most banal – and yet somehow never redundant.” Be grateful for what you have and don’t focus on what you can’t control.
My Excerpts 