Alieu S. Kamara

With Alieu S. Kamara – I just got recognized as one of their rising fans! 🎉

I have reached 100 followers! Thank you for your continued support. I could not have done it without each of you. 🙏🤗🎉

Stadium 974 is gone. The World Cup stadium was built with 974 containers and it will now be dismantled after the Brazil game to be moved to another destination. Qatar spent $717 million to build the stadium just for seven games 😳

"Is 2020 really a waste? Think Again!"

It is no argument that Covid-19 has in some form or another dismantled the lives of most of the world's population. Whether in the West, East or Global South, daily routines have been shattered, being quickly replaced by so-called safety measures requiring most to remain indoors.

The current statistics indicate that at least a third of the world's population (2 billion people) is under lockdown with India topping the list with approximately 1.3 billion people currently constrained to remain indoors for 21 days.

In Liberia, we are now moving into our third consecutive 5-week lockdown period while we watch our daily vocabulary being replaced by new buzzwords like "face masks", "quarantine", "social distancing", "isolation" amongst others.

In the face of what is certainly an existential crises which thrives on isolation from the general public and even from most family members, it is easy for one to slip into a somnabulent or sleepy posture, forgetting that one day (as we say in Liberian parlance) the world will go back to normal.

And so the key question we must ask ourselves is how are we putting our current free time to use so that when normalcy returns we are best able to maximize our productivity.

Are we only browsing social media? ? ? And ?😉

Contrary to the popular thought that 2020 is wasted, I believe the Covid-19 pandemic while offers the space and quiet to explore and ponder new vistas. Below, I suggest 4 simple yet key activities one can engage in to ensure this Covid-19 lockdown period is not a waste.

1. : Time and time again we have been reminded by various philosophers that all great innovations or inventions commenced with merely the conjuring of an idea. Most times, folks are tempted to see thinking as a useless and irritating activity, preferring instead to let life to them. This should not be your attitude. Spend quality time with yourself by playing within the recesses of your own mind. In that process, take the liberty to question yourself and some of your long held beliefs. Have they been beneficial to you? Do they tally with where you see yourself a few years down the road? Whatever the idea may be, the key is to find time to interrogate it internally-with yourself.

2. : Whether through digital means or via hard copy, carve out the space every day to consume some kind of literature that speaks to your current/future aspirations. If you are a banker, read banking or financial texts. If you are a lawyer like myself, befriend one or two of our legal texts and explore their timeless knowledge. But if you find technical texts boring, simply grab something exciting. You get my drift. The key is to keep the brain in its most absorptive frame so that it is constantly agile and digesting information.

3. : Exercise does for the body what thinking does for the brain. In fact, a leading medical website (Healthline) cites some of the benefits of exercise as greater happiness, acute brain power, reduction in chronic disease and increased relaxation. I know some folks become jarred when exercise is mentioned thinking they have to lift 1000 pounds or jog 1000 miles. Not so. Even moderate walking of up to 8000 steps a day (you can track this on any smartphone) has been shown to dramatically improve heart health and clarity of thought. So tired sitting indoors? Hit the community roads before and convert some of that energy to sweat through brisk walking.

4. : Lastly but of equal vitality is the need to reserve some time to plan. Planning does not mean you have all the answers. Planning does not mean you get to achieve everything. However, planning provides a roadmap, a direction such that when opportunities arrive, you are better positioned to take advantage of them. So secure time and grab piece of paper or your laptop and start to scribble down the key things you will like to achieve once "outside opens". But don't stop there. Go further and itemize the steps you will need to take to ensure they happen. Also itemize what could be your potential stumbling blocks and who could serve as allies. That way, you have an unbiased appreciation of how to implement your plan.

There you have it. As the bard Shakespeare declared "there is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so". Start thinking positively and futuristically now and see your fortunes swell when normalcy returns.

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