Tag Archive for: coronavirus

Man, this sucks! Sucks compared to what?

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Across most of the nation, and much of the world, people are self-quarantining. In some cases, the quarantine is imposed by government order. In either case, some people are complaining, “Man, this sucks!” I’d like to offer a different viewpoint and ask, “Sucks compared to what?”

Nelson Mandela

The late Nelson Mandela, statesman and leader of South Africa’s movement to abolish apartheid, spent 27 years in prison. That’s a long time to be quarantined! Early on some of his imprisonment was isolation in an 8×7 ft cell where he slept on a straw bed on the floor.

Mandela spent much of his time studying, writing and continuing to advance the cause for freedom and equality for blacks in South Africa. Perhaps we should adopt the same stance regarding our free time right now and do things to actively improve ourselves.

Viktor Frankl

If you’ve read this blog for any length of time you’ve undoubtedly seen many references to, and quotes from, Viktor Frankl. That’s so because his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, is one of the most impacting books I’ve ever read.

Frankl spent three years in Nazi concentration camps. How did he survive the horrors? By focusing his mind. He believed one day he’d be a free man and chose to imagine dinners with his wife, giving lectures on what he learned, and to appreciate the beautiful things in life like flowers and sunsets.

Despite his incarceration he came to the realization that everything could be taken away from him except the freedom to choose where he would place his thoughts. And with that core belief he suddenly realized he was freer than the guards who monitored his every move at the concentration camps. We’d all do well to adopt Frankl’s mindset.

John McCain

Senator John McCain was shot down during the Vietnam War and spend five and a half years as a prisoner. At first, he wasn’t even given any medical treatment for the injuries he sustained. Soon thereafter he was subjected to torture.

McCain had an opportunity for release less than a year into captivity but refused unless all the men he was imprisoned with were released too. That meant nearly five more years of imprisonment.

Consider this; we’re told to simply stay apart for our own well-being and the well-being of our fellow citizens. McCain chose to stay with his fellow soldiers at a great personal cost to himself and those who wanted him home. That’s a hero.

Our “Imprisonment”

Frankl, Mandela and McCain are extremes when it comes to imprisonment but they are hardly alone in the course of history. They could not access any of the comforts so many of us enjoy at this very moment.

  • Amazon Prime, Netflix, Hulu and other television apps afford us 24x7x365 entertainment of any kind.
  • We have access to news, books, games, email, work and countless other things to occupy our time, educate ourselves and in some cases, continue working.
  • Zoom, Skype, Google Meets and other technologies allow us to communication face to face with each other.
  • We still have access to goods and food delivered to our doorsteps.

Conclusion

For many reasons the global pandemic sucks. The biggest reason is that people are dying who otherwise may have lived much longer lives. Millions are getting sick which, even when they recover, presents its own hardships. And the economic toll – lost jobs and businesses – across the globe is terrible.

But, considering what many people have endured over time, what we’re going through doesn’t suck so much in comparison.

To Do This Week

Take stock of what you have, not what you’re missing, and be thankful. Use your time wisely. Here are a handful of easy things you can do:

  1. If you have family at home use this is a unique opportunity to spend quality time together. Don’t waste it! Jane and I have made it a point to take walks together every day. What are you doing differently?
  2. Get on LinkedIn Learning, Coursea and other online providers to sharpen your skills. Download a book or start listening to podcasts. You have more time so how will you use it?
  3. Use this time to reconnect with people. I’ve reconnected with my friend Marco Germani who lives outside of Rome. Once a week we jump on Zoom and keep each other up to date about what’s going on in our parts of the world. What person would you like to reconnect with?
  4. Give thanks. Despite the self-isolation you can still order food and other goods as noted earlier. Imagine how much harder this would seem without Amazon and other home delivery! What are you thankful for in the midst of this?
  5. Get creative. People are having virtual cocktail parties using technology. I’ve participated in a few and they’re fun. Jane and I give each other silly gifts every day and post of Facebook so our friends can laugh. What’s one creative thing you can do to pass each day?

Compared to earlier this year, things seem like they suck. Stepping back and looking at what others have had to endure, things don’t seem so bad. Make the right comparison and you’ll feel much better about where you are right now.

Brian Ahearn, CMCT®, is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE, LLC. An author, international trainer, coach and consultant, he’s one of only 20 people in the world personally trained by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., the most cited living social psychologist on the planet on the science of ethical influence.

Brian’s book, Influence PEOPLE: Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical, was a top 10 selling Amazon book in several insurance categories and top 50 in sales & selling. His LinkedIn Learning courses on sales and coaching have been viewed by more than 90,000 people around the world!

“The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself.”

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Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, uttered those words in 1932, during his first inaugural address. The American people were scared because of the stock market crash and subsequent depression. When FDR spoke, it didn’t look like things were going to get better any time soon. It strikes me that we’re at a similar crossroad in terms of national fear and it started last week.

Coronavirus

The spread of the coronavirus has grabbed headlines around the word. As of February 27, according to CNN.com there were more than 82,000 reported cases of the virus worldwide and the deaths attributed to it were estimated to be 2,800.

Did you know the death toll from influenza was nearly 100,000 over the last two years? And that was only in the United States, according to the Center for Disease Control. Total deaths over the last nine years have been approximately 335,000 in the U.S.!

Compare that to 1918, when the Spanish Flu pandemic touched the lives of almost 1/3rd of the world’s population, killing an estimated 700,000 Americans, and 20-50 million people worldwide. Wow!

Stock Market Free Fall

On February 12, the stock market was at 29,550 but fell to 25,409 by the close of trading on February 28 (Yahoo Finance). Last week was the worst week for the stock market since 2008. Ouch! That hurts a lot of people – not just millionaires and billionaires – because of the all the retirement savings invested in the markets.

Given the comparatively small death toll at this point, why is there so much panic in the markets? Here are a number of issues:

  1. Connected world. Even though the vast majority of the coronavirus cases are in China, a tremendous amount of goods for the global supply chain come from China. Without those goods, manufacturing around the world slows down followed by sales and profits.
  2. Reduced travel. As people become more afraid they travel less which hurts a huge part of the global economy including hotels, cruises, airlines and all the businesses that benefit from tourism and business travel.
  3. Instant news. Decades ago we’d find out what the market did when we turned on the nightly news. Now you can literally see the stock market change second by second on some news channels and apps. Watching those numbers all day long is not good for your stress level or investment strategy.
  4. Easy transmission. Because we can be almost anywhere in the world within 24 hours, viruses and disease spread faster than ever. That adds to the fear that this virus could make its way across the globe very quickly.

The Biggest Issue

Nobel Prize winner Daniel Kahneman said, “Nothing is as important as you think it is, while you’re thinking about it.” When our limited attention gets focused on whatever is front and center for us, we cannot see the forest for the trees. We lose perspective and in the process our decision making suffers.

Right now, with the 24×7 news cycle and availability of instant updates our attention is focused on the coronavirus and its potential health and economic affects more than ever. You can’t turn on any news or financial station without the coronavirus dominating everything. People in tunnel vision gripped by fear and doubt usually don’t make wise decisions. In essence, we often compound our own problems and fears.

Conclusion

Roosevelt was right in many respects. We can become our biggest enemies when we let our fears dominate our thoughts and actions. It’s only natural because our brains are wired for survival. However, just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it’s always most optimal.

To Do This Week

  1. Take a break from the news. The story hardly changes hour to hour, morning to night, and day to day so why hype yourself up with anxiety?
  2. Don’t’ keep looking at the stock market. You can’t change it so it might depress you in the short term. Remember, it has always bounced back so why wouldn’t you trust that it will again?
  3. Keep the numbers in perspective. We don’t know how this will play out but I’m comforted by the fact that we have so many more medical resources, financial resources and technology at our disposal than the world did in 1918.

Brian Ahearn, CMCT®, is the Chief Influence Officer at Influence PEOPLE, LLC. An author, international trainer, coach and consultant, he’s one of only 20 people in the world personally trained by Robert Cialdini, Ph.D., the most cited living social psychologist on the planet on the science of ethical influence and persuasion.

Brian’s book, Influence PEOPLE: Powerful Everyday Opportunities to Persuade that are Lasting and Ethical, was a top 10 selling Amazon book in several insurance categories and top 50 in sales & selling. His LinkedIn Learning courses on sales and coaching have been viewed by more than 90,000 people around the world!