We are living in one of the biggest times of influx and uncertainty I have ever seen. With a President, that is highly unpredictable and a pandemic that is uncontained, it has been a wild ride! Looking back at January when there were so many predictions and visions of what 2020 would be, no one saw this! Nevertheless, this is where we are four months into the pandemic, on our way to an interesting summer, and tumultuous election season, I reflect on all of the changes that have brought us here...
Yes like everyone else, I was on lockdown from mid-March until my state started opening up in late May (hello Texas). So my first set of changes was to learn how to survive in one of the most stressful times I’ve ever lived. Unfortunately, I’m not unfamiliar with stress - I went to law school and started my company in law school - but this was different. This was survival. I bulked up on supplies so I could avoid going to the store and seeing the virtual wasteland and fear that prevailed on every trip outdoors and to avoid unnecessary exposure when masks and gloves were hard to come by. It was particularly challenging because I observe the Biblical Feasts so this all started to occur during Passover and the Feast of Unleaved Bread and I couldn’t stock up on things that I would then have to throw away (leaven) but the fear/stress of not having enough was real.
The second set of changes was publically and privately observing all of the deaths caused by this horrible disease. Even regular deaths (old age, heart issues, terminal illness, etc.) had a bitter sting because we couldn’t mourn with our friends or families for the risk of catching another illness and being the next to go. At the time of this writing, I have not personally had anyone pass due to COVID-19, but I have had too many friends have people pass, and watching over 132,000 Americans die (524,000 worldwide) is horrible.
Another change was watching the economy go upside down. Whatever plans you may have had got a radical change when this virus hit our shores. And to be honest we really don’t know what the financial future holds (and we never have). I fortunately have always worked from home. I recently moved and intentionally set up my home office in a better way so I was “prepared” to stay home and keep working. Thankfully, I received more business, than I originally expected this environment to create and for that I am grateful! And being a savvy entrepreneur I have made some adjustments to address the future changes to the economy and position myself for success.
But now it is July. On the cusp of one of our biggest national holidays, we as Americans are coming to a new change. This is our new normal. We will be living with this virus for a long time. It hit me in June that, “we were not in Kansas anymore.” I celebrated my birthday but had to do so with a lot of intentionality and prayer. I wanted to celebrate and not let the virus steal my birthday but I could not just be willy nilly about it. Every location and activity was carefully chosen, monitored, and done alone. I purposefully chose restaurants with outdoor seating. I wore my mask. And I sanitized everything! This is how we will celebrate moving forward. This is life. There will be no large gatherings. There will be no sharing of food. There will be as little opportunity for the virus to get you as you can possibly put in place or suffer the consequences.
So how does one deal with so much change in such a short amount of time? I learned it takes a combination of resilience, mindset, and faith. You have to lean on your past ability to overcome to believe you can do it again. Look you made it from one grade to another. From one job to another. Maybe from one state or even country to another. You can handle change. It will not kill you. However, sometimes it feels like it will. That’s where mindset comes in. It is futile to try to resist change. It is a constant as gravity. Instead, embrace it and learn how to navigate it. In other words, don’t ignore gravity but learn how to leverage it (come on rockets). Most resistance to change comes from fear. The fear of the unknown is real. But guess what, even if “something bad might happen,” also, “something great may happen.” The fear of having to be in the grocery store made me meal prep like a master chef! And now my home cooking game is on another level! The fear of how to celebrate my birthday, made me intentionally create a fabulous experience that I will cherish, and that was not overshadowed by a virus. These challenges can create great results. Lastly, you have to have faith. You must believe the future will be better than the present and that you can contribute to it being so. I know that I can create revenue from any economy. I have faith that I can use my experiences, tools, resources, and network and make money. I know that one day this virus will not grip our country and the world and we will move forward. One day, we will tell our children or grandchildren about how we overcame and made something better.
Embrace the change and let’s make a better “normal.”