Part III.
The facts and numbers are out there. We are constantly fed with the news, humor, fear, hope, all sort of information from every direction. Government officials are informing the public and telling you what to do to slow down the spread. They work directly and see all the data first-hand. The delivery and tone of the message can be different. The way your family tells you how to act/live a certain way is different from what your partner is telling you, and also different from what the government is telling you. We as an individual need to be able to see the intention and the expected outcome of our course of action. Don’t be all lost and distracted.
Focus on yourself, focus on the final outcome of this situation—focus on the day we all go out to restaurants to enjoy a meal with friends, driving to our family’s house and being able to hug them without the fear that you might get them sick, the day we go to a grocery store and all is fine.
We all never have experienced this before. Through life, we learn to deal with heartbreaks, disappointments, losses, and deaths. We have been learning how to adapt to difficult circumstances, but this pandemic is entirely new to all of us. Therefore, it’s such a unique time to pause and evaluate whether you have the right mindset for this situation.
As humans, we have been adapting — we have been evolving to survive.
Charles Darwin’s famous quote is now more relevant and eye-opening than ever:
“It is not the strongest species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
If your perspective on this situation is that this is not my fault or my country’s fault and choose to remain unchanged, then you are making yourself part of the growing problems. “I’m affected by all of this and I blame this on so and so,” ….you are playing the victim. Victims in most situation are usually hopeless, harmed, taken advantage of, or destroyed. Their hands are tied and they don’t have a sense of direction and are unable to move forward — they’re stuck.
You can choose to be the “victim” or are you going to be in control of this? Be in charge of your actions and your own possibilities. You must be evolving. Businesses and organizations are all adapting and learning day by day to best handle this situation. Being in control doesn’t mean you cannot be afraid or fearful. Having fears is a result of not having clarity. Having fear for this current situation is valid, but educating yourself is the powerful key to set yourself apart from the victim mindset. Find ways to adapt. Find opportunities. Talk to the right people who want to help you grow, not negative people who are stagnant and refuse to evolve—they’re also playing the victim. Recognize it.
Get yourself out of the victim mindset and educate yourself. Know the right sources of information and the safe things to do. Know how to evaluate dramatic content used to manipulate people or gain popularity. Know exactly what the right thing to do is and that will be the foundation of positive influences sprouting from you, yourself, to others. This is how you have the winner mindset that will allow you to evolve and survive. You are in control of your life.
If you don’t think you influence anyone, you have to rethink that. First of all, you influence yourself—from the way you hav an opinion about something to how you choose to feel, react, and go on with your daily life. You also influence your loved ones — people you live with or people you talk to often. They are scared too. They are worried about their families, about their jobs too. They are bombarded with all the news and information coming from all directions too. Your job as a friend or a family member is to be the genuine influencer who hears what they have to say, but influence them to live a more productive, evolving lifestyle.
You influence people you work with. From your stress, worries, optimism, and sense of humor, these are all nonverbal messages sent to your colleagues, bosses, clients, and more. Understand that even though your action is not directly or physically impact someone, your perspective on this situation is what will allow you to be the winner. Look at what you have done differently in the past few weeks… things that have improved, friends or families you have been able to connect with, things or new skills you have learned, time you have gained with your loved ones at home. So many great things have happened that you didn’t realize. What are those things?
Come out of this physical distancing as a surviver. You are now evolving and constantly improving.
You have adapted. You have overcome.
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