My purpose in writing this article is not to downplay Corona Virus. I also do not intend to disparage anyone who catches this or has loved ones who catch it or are the most vulnerable in our population. I support whatever you need to do take care of you and yours. This is a serious problem that we must deal with but may not be all bad. Don’t believe me? Read on.
We have been inundated by national news about this virus so much that you think nothing else is happening in the world. Everything from our local fair grounds to schools to businesses are shutting down for weeks and there are even discussions of should we have public events in August…think about that - August is over 4 months away and we can’t even accurately predict what this is going to look like next week!! Stores have run out of things like toilet paper, flour, and eggs which may not have logical ties to the virus. What’s next, a run on tic-tacs? It makes me think everyone’s bathroom looks like this.
Let’s just calm down people.
Yes, this is bad and we probably haven’t seen the worst of it yet, but let’s quit making it worse than it needs to be. There are even good things about this crisis if you think about it. What are those you ask…well.
1. We’ve all heard the phrase “Whatever doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger”? Well that applies here. After this initial outbreak, the population of the world will begin to develop antibodies and resistance to this virus, just like all the other viruses in the past.
2. If we restrict our travel to foreign countries, we will discover more wonderful things about our own town and country.
3. When we shelter in place, we become closer to our families.
4. When a population faces adversity together, they come together to work together against a common foe.
5. The stock market has fallen precipitously, but that is based on short term outlooks and the unknown…the stock market hates uncertainty. This creates opportunity to buy into stocks at a much lower price than they were just a month ago, and a year from now, the cash that has left the market will return, rewarding those with the foresight to buy now. Who wants to be a millionaire?
6. This craziness of closing everything down is going to hurt many small businesses and some of those will go bankrupt. As unfortunate as this is, it will create opportunity for others soon. As an example, if the market is saturated with too many restaurants, and the financially weaker ones go out of business due to this virus, it creates a vacuum that will be filled with newer and possibly better restaurants in their place.
7. As governments and society in general navigate through the morass that this virus has created, new systems are being created for prediction, testing, vaccine creation, etc. that will be valuable in the future to make the next outbreak more manageable.
8. The Biopharmaceutical industry in this country and overseas is responding to create treatments and vaccines for this pandemic faster than ever. Regulatory bodies around the world are looking for ways to remove red tape to approve these new drugs faster. Lessons learned now will accelerate drug development forever.
I could go on, but you get the idea. Hopefully this list will help others to reconsider the way they are thinking about this crisis. Take this time when you are sequestered to think about what other good things might come out of this. Think about how you can take advantage of what is happening to come out on the other side stronger, kinder, more resilient, richer, and wiser than you are now.
In closing, check out this link - https://youtu.be/eWJYP_yuNX8
Always remember and never forget…this too shall pass.