During the first lockdowns, I found myself becoming increasingly anxious, as each successive Covid news report seemed to surpass the previous one in its message of doom. The coverage was so comprehensive that one day I simply had to turn off the TV completely.
Two things followed: firstly, the anxiety retreated, and secondly, I found I had a lot more time on my hands. This resulted in the long list of chores I’d buried being attended to, and slowly, a sense of calm returned.
It transpired that what I had discovered was nothing new. The Greek philosophers known as the Stoics noted this over 2,000 years ago. They concluded that the foundation of inner peace was “putting our energy only into those things over which we have control.”
Farming may seem far removed from this kind of thinking, since we appear to be driven by circumstances, weather, prices, disease, interest rates, and so on, things seem beyond our control. But the Stoics would argue there are always areas where we can help ourselves.
Aside from the attention to detail required in farming, they might ask: are all the support systems up to date? Are all the assets being used to their fullest? What about relationships with buyers and suppliers? What about staff training? And if everything is in good shape...how about us? Could we do with a break?
In my case, I don’t think it was a coincidence that during that time, not only did my diversifications evolve into something more professional, but I also found time to do more community work. I contrast this with others I know who seemed to remain in that “TV storm.” For whatever reason, they just got stuck there.
The writer Stephen Covey, who studied what makes people effective, believed this to be an inevitable outcome. He observed that the key habit of effective people was to work on what he termed their “circle of influence” , things they could directly affect. This would, in turn, expand that circle, but only at the expense of what he called their “circle of concern” — the things they merely worried about. The opposite, he noted, was also true: when we focus too much on our concerns, our influence shrinks.
I now work with teenage lads, and it’s a constant battle to get them off their phones, but one I believe is worth fighting. By focusing on the latest world events, they conveniently distract themselves from more important, everyday responsibilities. When I asked one young lad about his hygiene, he replied, “People are dying in the streets.”
In this area, I’ve been much helped by the book 12 Rules for Life, in which the author argues for “setting your own house in order before you criticise the world.” Referring to that idea, I asked the lad exactly who was dying, and in which streets. He couldn’t say... but he did agree that whoever it was wouldn’t be helped by him not washing.
You may be surprised to hear that I never did turn the TV back on, nor did I return to social media. My friends accuse me of burying my head in the sand, and they may have a point. While I’m certainly more productive and cheerful, I’m now hopeless in a pub quiz.