“If you want to conquer fear, don’t sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” – Dale Carnegie

The last few days as I’ve watched the news stories and read the articles about the spread of the Coronavirus it has been difficult not to let feelings of fear start creeping in…fear for how it would affect your aging parents, fear for your young grandbabies, fear for friends with weakened immune systems, fear for everyone really as even if the disease doesn’t kill people it is having a massive effect on the economy, on jobs, on companies, etc.  As I lay in bed last night I couldn’t get to sleep with all the worries about all the things this could affect.

Then today, I thought about the opening quote in today’s blog from Dale Carnegie and it reminded me that one way to overcome fear is to get out and get busy doing what you can about it.  So I made a list of all the things I can do to make sure I’m prepared and my family is prepared in the event the virus affects us. Then I began ordering some supplies we will need in the event quarantine happens…things like diapers for grandbabies, laundry detergent, medications, trash bags, disposable gloves, paper towels, toilet paper, cleaning supplies, and food….

The more things I was able to order from the list the more calm I began to feel because I was actually doing something about it rather than just fearing it. Fearing it won’t change it…not even a little bit…. but preparing for it will…

Do what you can to prepare – its the best way to ward off fear. And on that front, if anyone has additional ideas of items I ought to be purchasing to make sure I’m prepared please share them on the blog! I don’t want to forget anything I should have gotten.

~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )