The last 24 hours have been but what can only be described as surreal…from all of the Universities throughout the State of Utah shutting down, to graduation ceremonies getting cancelled, to conferences and events canceling, to companies ordering workers to work from home, to the Governor asking for a ban on any gatherings of over 100 people and banning gatherings of over 20 people for those 60 and older, to the NBA and NHL and NCAA and MLS, MLB cancelling, to Disneyland closing, to church services being cancelled, to the markets crashing like crazy…it was as if the announcements just kept coming and coming all day long today…it started to feel like we’d all been sucked into an episode of the old TV Show, The Twilight Zone. It’s almost hard to fathom that this is all happening for reals…
It’s disconcerting for everyone as we face this global pandemic. There is obviously a lot of fear of the unknown right now and worry about what is to come, but the only thing any of us can really do about any of it is to prepare as much as possible by getting adequate food and supplies for a quarantine and then carefully follow the instructions we get from the CDC. Other than that there isn’t really much we can do. And being prepared really does help alleviate feelings of fear.
The only other thing we can do is try to focus on what there is to be positive about. For example, my calendar that was previously booked full of speaking engagements, meetings, appointments, travel, and events has suddenly become wide open which means I may actually be able to get caught up on all the unread emails that have been piling up for several months and spend some quality time with my husband. Another positive is that my adult children have decided to come and stay with us at our home while we all wait out the virus threat and that means playing games and watching movies and having fun together as a family for a few weeks which is AWESOME! So you see, there are silver linings to be found, even in the midst of this terrible storm we are facing.
I have a feeling that the next 24 hours will be as crazy as the last as this virus continuous to spread so just make sure you’ve done all you can to prepare. Then focus on the positive. And be sure to find things to laugh about because nothing will boost your immune system like a good old dose of hearty laughter!
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, It’s learning to dance in the rain.” -unknown
~Amy Rees Anderson (author of the book “What Awesome Looks Like: How To Excel in Business & Life” )
