reset – COOPER GENERAL NEWS

While some people developed healthy new habits during the pandemic lockdown, if you’ve spent your pandemic days just getting through it, it’s not too late. The good news is that the end of the pandemic is likely a more propitious time for significant change than if you had the heightened fear of lockdowns.

“Covid-19 has been a terrible time for many of us,” said Laurie Santos, a psychology professor at Yale who teaches a popular online course called The Science of Well-Being. “There is a lot of evidence of what is known as post-traumatic growth – that we can come out stronger and with a little more meaning in our lives after negative events. I think we can all use this terrible time of the pandemic to achieve post-traumatic growth in our own lives. “

So what’s your next chapter?

One of the biggest barriers to change has always been the fact that we tend to establish routines that are difficult to break. But the pandemic has destroyed many people’s routines and prepared us for a reset, said Dr. Santos.

“We’ve all changed our routines so much,” she said. “I think many of us realized during the pandemic that some of the things we did before Covid-19 weren’t the kind of things that made our lives flourish. I think many of us have realized that if we are to be happier, aspects of our work and family life, and even our relationships, may have to change. “

One reason new beginnings can be so effective is because people think about the passage of time in chapters or episodes rather than a continuum, said Dr. Milkman. As a result, we tend to look at the past in terms of unique periods, such as: For example, our high school years, college years, years we lived in a particular city or worked in a particular job. In the future, we will likely look back on the pandemic year as a similarly unique chapter in our lives.

“We have chapter breaks like life is a novel – that’s how we mark the time,” said Dr. Milkman. “This has an impact on the psychology of the new beginning, because these moments, which open a new chapter, give us the feeling of a new beginning. It is easier to attribute mistakes to the “old me”. You feel like you can do more now because we are in a new chapter. “

Take the Fresh Start Challenge!

While the beginning of a new chapter is a good time to change, the pages will turn quickly. Now that we are getting out of the confines of pandemic life, social scientists say it is an ideal time to reflect on what you have learned over the past year. What new habits would you like to keep and what parts of your prepandemic life would you like to change?

US President Joe Biden has reportedly agreed to lower the income level caps for the third round of stimulus payments.

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI | AFP | Getty Images

LONDON – The US and the European Union may have a truce, but some analysts have doubts whether the two sides can agree on other contentious issues like digital taxation and relations with China.

US President Joe Biden and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Friday a suspension of tariffs imposed during the Trump presidency for subsidizing aircraft. The dispute first emerged in 2004, and the World Trade Organization ruled in 2019 and 2020 that the US and EU had provided Boeing and Airbus with illegal assistance, respectively.

Tariffs of $ 7.5 billion on EU products and $ 4 billion on US goods are now on hold for four months as both sides attempt to work out a deal that will provide a permanent solution to support the Aircraft sector.

European officials said the announcement was a “reset” in transatlantic relations after four fragile years under the Trump presidency, but some analysts are not convinced.

“The suspension of tariffs is a first step towards thawing trade relations between Europe and the United States and hopefully a sign that these tariffs will soon be abolished altogether,” Fredrik Erixon, trade expert at the ECIPE think tank, told CNBC on Monday .

“I’m less convinced that the suspension signals an entirely new direction in transatlantic trade, with new agreements in support of greater economic integration.”

Technology giants

A particularly controversial issue is the taxation of some of the world’s largest technology companies.

Last week’s news is good news, and it takes away a short-term risk to the economy that we have always faced over the past four years.

Carsten Brzeski

Economist at ING in Germany

The EU and US have been at odds over this matter for years, as well as security concerns related to 5G. But since Biden arrived at the White House, the EU has been confident that some of these disagreements can be overcome.

In fact, the US opened the door to a digital tax deal that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development plans to close this summer.

But Biden hasn’t completely deviated from all of his predecessor’s guidelines. He implemented the Buy American First initiative to incentivize production in the country and boost the economy as a whole as the coronavirus pandemic affects the world’s largest economic power.

In the meantime, the EU has also stepped up discussions on strategic autonomy in order to reduce dependence on certain parts of the world.

“Both sides are increasing their economic protection against the global economy. In the US, for example, through new Buy America guidelines and in Europe through a general campaign to free themselves from technological dependence on the US. Both sides say they want to do this. ” Transatlantic into a new age, but to do that they would first have to solve controversial issues such as digital taxes and friction with new technologies, “said Erixon of ECIPE.

China and Russia

In addition, there are also some sensitivities in dealing with China and Russia.

The EU signed an investment deal with Beijing a few weeks before Biden’s inauguration, amid fears the 27-strong bloc could jeopardize its relationship with the new president. At the same time, some American lawmakers believe that the EU is not assertive enough on human rights issues in China.

The US is also opposed to building a gas pipeline from Russia to Europe and has sanctioned some of the companies involved in the project.

In a press release on Friday, however, von der Leyen said after a phone call with Biden: “We share a strategic outlook on Russia.”

Holger Schmieding, Europe’s chief economist in Berenberg, told CNBC on Monday that the next item on the transatlantic to-do list could be “attempts to defuse the conflict over the Nordstream 2 pipeline”.

Carsten Brzeski, economist at ING in Germany, also said that the tariff suspension “does not mean that everything will be okay, there are still many stumbling blocks ahead of us like Nordstream and how to deal with China.”

In the meantime, European exporters can take a cautious breath at a time when the region is facing a severe economic crisis.

“Last week’s news is good news and takes away a short-term risk to the economy that we have always faced for the past four years,” added Brzeski.