I reached peak coronavirus anxiety on the day before St. Patrick’s Day. A lot was happening since I live in Ohio, and our governor has been very proactive. However, it meant that schools closed, followed by bars and restaurants, and finally, gyms.
So, most of the things I did for fun and to keep me grounded were suddenly closed. And, a lot of my friends and family were suddenly unemployed. And, as a leader at a non-profit, we were forced to make hard decisions just to keep doors open.
By Monday night, it was all too much. I realized that over the five or so days prior, my brain was going back to the coronavirus. I had run every worst-case scenario in my head, to the point where I was either dead or homeless.
I also started thinking to myself that now wasn’t the time to do anything related to business or coaching. It just seemed like the wrong time to do anything that wasn’t simply surviving. Now, I thought, was the time to hunker down and just get by.
It was then, when I was having a discussion with someone very close to me, that we both expressed our fears about this. And we realized that most of this fear was “in our heads.” The actual present reality was challenging, but nowhere near the level in our heads.
It hit me that the coronavirus pandemic was just another excuse for me to not do the next right things in life. Yes, it is a very real and legitimate excuse, but I realized that the best time to do what is right, to be loving, courageous, grateful, and share what I have with others is all the time.
There is never a time that I want to “take a break” from being my best self and slip into simply “getting by.” In fact, it’s this mentality that leads to hoarding toilet paper and other selfish, low-energy behavior.
In fact, I have literally spent the last year studying fear and uncertainty and understanding the importance of uncertainty and obstacles in creating a great life. My friends and I have studied Stoicism through Ryan Holiday’s The Obstacle Is the Way. And, we have taken the words and teaching of the late Susan Jeffers to heart and integrated them into our coaching programs. Her books Feel The Fear And Do It Anyway and Embracing Uncertainty shaped me immensely.
I realized it’s game time. What I have studied, embraced, and integrated into my coaching and personal work was needed more right now, not needed less.
Whatever it is you have to give…now is the time to give your best abundantly and fearlessly.
Whatever it is we have to give, whether it’s a technical talent that might save lives (like people who are sharing data on how to make ventilators), or comedic entertainment for those bummed out, now is the time to give your best abundantly and fearlessly.
And, now is also the time to not expect anything in return, at least not right away. There are many lessons in the midst of this, and one of them is giving in a detached way, which is to say giving simply to give.
Many people may not be able to pay you right now, and they may even take a “survival mode” mentality and ignore what you have to offer, but that’s okay. Give to give.
What does all this mean for you? It may mean continuing to hang with friends, even if it is “virtually.” Share with neighbors. If you’re single and looking for a great relationship, give online dating a chance (even if it’s to meet friends). Be friendlier at the grocery store. If you’re an artist, paint. If you’re a singer, sing. If your grandma is isolated, call her. If you’re out of work, start the business or write that book you said you’d do if you just “had time.”
Stay healthy and safe friends.
