Why We Should Not Try to Overcome the Coronavirus

As we are dealing with the coronavirus, we are starting to turn our attention to what life will look like in the coming months or even years. A misnomer is that we are going to overcome this crisis. We are going to deal with the aftermath of this virus for decades or even generations.  This does not mean that life won’t feel normal, or even be better. This only means that life will change and it’s up to us to embrace the change, work with reality, and do our part to improve our lives and the lives of others. 

I don’t believe we overcome most challenges. I believe we deal with challenges. I was born with a disability and speak with a severe speech impediment. I understood that my disability would not go away and that I would not overcome it. I started to look at other people and other challenges and saw that, in most cases, people deal with challenges, but do not overcome them. The only challenge that can be overcome are those that have a finite ending. Examples are a deficit in a sporting event, sales objections, or even a bad first date. These examples have a binary answer at the conclusion. Most challenges have multiple tentacles in our lives. A person who deals with anxiety is going to have moments where impacts their life. A person who struggles with weight loss is always going to deal with those issues. They have to watch what they eat their entire lives. A person who struggles with alcoholism does so for the rest of their life.

Challenges change and evolve over time. When you assume that, one day, challenges will disappear, you encounter two issues. The first is you start blaming the cause instead of looking for a solution. I am disabled because of a doctor’s negligence. I spent years blaming him for everything wrong in my life. We have some people who cannot get over China’s lack of oversight with regard to the meat markets. Every time they think about the virus, they get frustrated by the meat markets. Second, when you don’t get over the blame game, you don’t find solutions.  When I was younger, I asked myself if having kids was a good idea. As a father, I can not drive my kids around, help them change, and do thousands of other things that other fathers can do.  I now realize that I can teach them about life, give them my love, and give them a unique perspective on life. If I focused on everything that I cannot give them, I would never appreciate what I can give them. I had to let go of the idea of overcoming my disability in order to live and love life. 

We are all itching to get back to life as we knew it. We all wish that there was a magic switch that could automatically fill up classrooms, stadiums, or movie theaters. As we slowly get back into life and start opening back up, we have to not be in a rush to overcome the coronavirus. For some, life is going to be different. Some people will learn the lessons that this situation has provided.

Because of my disability, I got the opportunity to write books, speak, and inspire people. The goal is always to improve our lives, even when a big wrench has been thrown in the middle. The coronavirus is the biggest wrench that has been thrown into some of our lives. It’s easier to live life and move on when we let go of this utopian idea of overcoming obstacles. I could not enjoy my life the way I do if I stayed attached to the idea of living life without a disability. For those that lost loved ones too early, they my never get over that loss. 

The question is how to take coming off of the coronavirus lockdown and learn the lessons and apply them to your own life.  Again, the goal is to always improve your life.

Health

The coronavirus hit people the most with underlying health concerns. This can be a calling card to improve our personal health habits. It can also be a calling card to focus on less-treatment focused and more on prevention-focused healthcare. It can also focus positive healthcare policies to be ready for future pandemics.

Collateral Damage

In addition to the health aftermath, there will be lost opportunity that a lot of people won’t get back and if you don’t deal with it properly, it might affect your whole life. The high school or college seniors who could not partake in graduation or other significant events, the weddings that had to be postponed, the family trips that had to be cancelled, are all examples of events that might be lost in all this. We have to accept the collateral damage and not hold onto the pain of having to alter our lives.

Economy

The economy has always been fluid and ever-changing. In the next few years, the economy is going to change because the demands of consumers are going to change. Businesses who can adapt and find opportunities in the new economy are going to be at an advantage. Individuals can also take advantage of changes. This can be a wake-up call for people to save money in case of emergency. The landscape of economics will be impacted for generations. My great-grandkids will be paying off this debt.

Life Style

Everyone’s lifestyle has been interrupted. Some more than others. As we restart our lives, we might have learned to live life in different ways. We might carry over some precautions that we implemented for the coronavirus. Examples included not shaking hands, family time, working virtually, or taking better care of ourselves.

Mindset

Mindset is the way we look at life. The way we go about our goals, the way deal with challenges, and even the way we go about our day. This situation has the potential to strengthen or weaken your mindset. You’re not taking responsibility for your own life when you have the attitude of when are we going to overcome, when is this going to be over, or are we there yet? 

Many people got used to achieving success in one put-together way. The virus has disrupted everybody’s way of life. Those that can adjust their mindset will be in a better position than those that cannot.

Being Prepared

Dealing with disability in a positive way has given me the tools to look at situations in a unique way. I turned those experiences into a career. On a micro level and on a macro level, challenges are going to be there and they are going to occur whether we like it or not. In our lifetimes, there will be bad economies, national tragedies, and there may even be another outbreak. 

Conclusion

The goal right now is to improve our lives. We have to have the attitude of what can we do both individually and as a society to prosper. Even when we find a vaccine for the coronavirus we while have to deal with the effects. It is wrong to expect that one day we will wake up one day and exclaim we have overcome the virus.

Summary:

During these challenging times, it is important to remember that we must deal with what’s going on instead of hoping we will overcome it. The only way to get to our new normal is to deal with the coronavirus outbreak head on.