With all the news and impact of the current Covid-19 infection it has been fascinating to observe how different countries and cultures respond and react. How the scientific, media and political communities communicate what they perceive or believe to be facts from fiction, fake from real, policy and practice and so forth.
Setting aside the obvious and understandable concerns that countries and communities have, it is interesting to be reading about the creation, transmittal and spread of viruses. The virus is generally a negative association impact event but increasingly we see the language used more broadly. How often do we hear these days about YouTube videos or memes that are ‘going viral’. The recent #BeKind movement on twitter another example of a viral social media grassroots effort to transform behavior in communities.
In Chapter 1 of the Mandt System Program, “Building Health Relationships” we talk about Albert Bandura’s study from the 1960’s and Glenn Latham from the 2000’s looking at negative vs positive interactions and the strong bias toward negative. Imagine if we could create a Care Virus with Mandt System trainers acting as the viral epicenter, how cool to spread something virally that builds people up rather than tearing then down….. It seems to me that in most Mandt events a little bit of that viral spread happens and passes from trainers or faculty to student and participants. We see that in many evaluations and comments that come back to us from classes every month.
As the Mandt System becomes more global and present in its reach, delivery and application perhaps we can quietly push our Care Virus 2020 out to more and more folks and see the effect an infection of positivity has as it takes hold……
Oh and by the way, if you are concerned about the other virus (Covid-19) that is going around, talk to our event staff (or see our social media links) as they have already done their prep work to ensure our classes are following guidance as per the Centers for Disease control and WHO recommendations. Additionally information for Mandt Certified Instructors regarding delivery of their own events and options to maintain certification have been disseminated to all.
Stay safe and well my friends…
Simon Kemp – CEO
