Is COVID-19 a blessing in disguise?

There is no question about how horrible this pandemic is, so far more than 40,000 by 2nd April People have lost battle of life and above 80,000 are suffering. We must feel the grieve of the ones suffered or suffering, but the way we are responding to it, is that right?

There is panic everywhere, fear is driving people crazy. No one ever thought, in 2020 people would be fighting for toilet paper in the markets and will get on each other. Moreover, Whats-app inboxes are flooded with fake messages, someone is saying, "the end of the world is coming", for some it's the arrival of Dajjal, few said it's the curse of God and for some onions are the cure. Because people are fearful they are ready to believe anything.

Amid this panic, I want to ask a question; Can you do anything regarding this pandemic? Is it in your control to change the current dilemma or mitigate the loss?

IF the answer is YES, then stop panicking and go out to do whatever you are capable of. And if the answer is NO, then again stop panicking because it is not helping anyone but paralyzing you and society as a whole. if we clear the fog of fear and anxiety only then we will be able to see that it has brought some positive news as well. Let's take a look on few:

Whole humanity got united

Remember the time in schools when the whole class used to get miserable marks? and we were not worried because everyone was faced with the same crisis, we were together in it. Isn't it so in the corona case? The whole divided world is facing the same challenge, For once we are not fighting for better economies but struggling to stable ourselves in the recession, for once we are not fighting for the number of nukes but to find the cure, For once we are helping each other fight a uniform disaster. We are all united to get humans back on the streets.

A time to reflect

Most of our lives are spent in a rat race without taking a stop and reflecting, Am I on the right track? Am I doing what I am meant for? Am I fulfilling my purpose? Unfortunately, we never paused to ask these thought-provoking questions. But fortunately due to Corona, now we have an ample amount of time to reflect on our lives and performances and get ourselves on the right track. Now is the time to learn new skills, read books, write and do what you always thought of doing but never found time for.

World is going Virtual

Corona is pushing us to go virtual, as every interaction now is happening online. According to ZOOM, Doctors from over 1000 public hospitals are using their platform to conduct online consultation, diagnosis and treatment of patients. it is an opportunity especially for baby boomers and millennials to adapt to technology. And it is not limited to individuals but for the organizations too, as many businesses are using cloud meetings and team collaboration solutions in the time of disruption caused by COVID-19. And we all know, it is the right time to get our hands-on technology.

World is more Empathetic

Leadership is about Empathy, Oprah Winfrey. In the time where the virus has robbed our freedom to leave our houses, now we can empathize with the places like Kashmir and Syria who are facing worse lock-downs with no internet and Television, we know what pain animals go through when caged in houses or zoos, now we can feel the frustration most of the women go through who are not allowed to leave their houses. When corona made every big corporate giant hit rock-bottom, now we know what a jobless feels when he goes back to his family of 5 with no money. Overall we are more empathetic and this chaos will produce better leaders out of it, which I am hopeful!

Lastly, I believe we need to utilize this time for our development, so when we head back to our offices and workplaces again after this pandemic is over, we return as a better person.