Find Joy in the Journey
I had a friend reach out to me yesterday with a simple text…“Make me feel better about the coronavirus”
She added a “hahaha” as a follow up text but I knew she was serious.
My response was somewhere in between I’m not afraid of the virus itself anymore than I’m afraid of any other disease or virus but our economy is likely to take some kind of hit due to the panic.
See, my personality type is one of optimism. I’m not naïve. I’ve simply known pain over factors that I have no control over and decide to choose joy and light for as long as I can fight for it. Why would I spend any additional time than absolute necessary in a state of worry? I can’t stop a tornado or cancer any more than I can stop something like the coronavirus – none of us can.
There are some who think the world is ending and others who haven’t blinked an eye. As a PR Major, I am naturally skeptical of media framing and, truth be told, I don’t spook easily. I’ve always loved to analyze it from all different perspectives and usually find myself somewhere in the middle, understanding both sides.
Fear of the unknown seems to be binding our nation right now and all I can think about is writing in hopes to bring some clarity around what I really think about the matter as I sift through my thoughts here and hopefully bring some light to a darker time through words.
Here’s what I do believe in my heart to be true:
Most viruses attack those with lesser immune systems and/or the elderly harder than someone who is healthy. We wouldn’t go around our grandma or a new baby with ANY contagious virus, right? I get the scare of not knowing you may be a carrier of it though.
People were/are already in a state of emergency. Maybe making it formal will make this hurdle hit softer and last shorter.
There is no doubt that hospital staff is overwhelmed. If a 2 week hiatus to spend time with our families is what it takes to give them some relief and reset our economy so it can start to heal, let’s do it. However, let’s not clear out the grocery stores and make small businesses suffer if we can avoid it.
The drive through testing over waiting in the ER around other sickies is a great move in the right direction. I literally had just told Trevor last night that they needed to make an at home test you could send off to be tested instead of going to a hospital, potentially infecting others with compromised immune systems or taking up space when others may need it more.
Your enneagram number probably plays a pretty large role in how you are responding to this situation. It’s interesting to watch Trevor and I play off of one another as we digest and sift through this. The house don’t fall when the bones are good and I’m so thankful for the endless conversations that have been going on in our household in the last 72 hours. Don’t let fear (whether over the disease itself or what this has the potential of doing to our economy) shut you down and put your walls up. Communicate, write, get it out.
The enneagram 3 “Achiever” in me is a natural workaholic. I’d like to consider myself in recovery and learning to balance things more and more by the day, but if the world decides to present a moment to any of us to slow down and have the opportunity to spend more time with our families and on house projects that we’ve been pushing off, take advantage of it!
The unknown forecast can make you realize where you’re spending unnecessarily. I looked down at my toes last night and said…You know what, I’m going to give myself a pedicure and paint my own toenails. It has been A LONG TIME since I’ve said those words. My family didn’t have money growing up and I think I’ve become somewhat spoiled with our lifestyle. Entitled and/or blessed with first world problems…either way you see it, it was a clarifying moment of want vs. need.
It’s important to lean in to your strengths in a time of uncertainty. If you can’t tell, I do a lot of research in the personality test world and know that one of my leadership strengths is strategy. You should have seen the strategy sesh going on in our home last night. As entrepreneurs and business owners, we have to weigh all options and be prepared for a shift, regardless of what that looks like and how long it lasts.
That said, at this moment, I am thankful we don’t have overhead or other employees to worry about. My heart goes out to every business owner (big or small) as they navigate this season for themselves, their companies and their employees. On a lighter note – I love seeing some people get creative as they face slower times. It’s in all of us to become complacent in our day to day. Nothing like a little shock to jolt you back in to fight for what you love! Enjoy the chance to get creative.
Having a hard time with all of this? Look for the GOOD news – find the recovery stories, look for the people wanting to help those who don’t have enough food for their kids to stay home from school, look for the people offering to help the elderly get what they need if they couldn’t make it to the store. And hey, maybe even willingly giving a roll of toilet paper to someone who simply picked the wrong time to run out!
The million dollar question is – what does it mean for Real Estate. We will keep you updated as more unfolds. As of now, we’re still getting showings on our listings, hosting open houses, taking people to go see homes and closing attorney’s offices remain open for closings with precautionary measures in place and permission for cash buyers to e-sign. Realtors are already masters of working from home and it’s not like we’re taking people to 300 person gatherings – we’re touring homes. If interest rates remain low, it will still remain a great time to buy and sell.
I can see all the angles and have finally given myself permission to divulge in the matter instead of plugging my ears to it. And even after diving in, I still remain optimistic. If this does spur a recession, it should be minor and shallow compared to previous ones we’ve experienced and people will be eager and ready to jump back in as soon as humanly possible.
As the saying goes, a smooth sea never made a skilled sailor. At the end of the day, we will rise again and this too shall pass. It may be a minor set back but we will come out stronger on the other side of it. While events and sports are cancelled – get things done around the house, spend time with your friends and family who aren’t sick and if you see a chance to help someone, take it! If you are anything like our household who doesn’t want to consume the every day negativity of the news and will no longer be able to live with sports on in the background, use this as an opportunity to do some soul searching or do some good in the world around you. I think we could use it!
So here’s the deal…
In the midst of this season, be the light, be kind, help someone in need and by all means, find joy in the journey! “Because tomorrow the sun will rise and who knows what the tide will bring” – Tom Hanks; Castaway
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