The Hurricane Mindset

Hurricane Ian brought with it catastrophic damage to my town.?The news leading up to the storm, then the subsequent news after the storm all said one thing, DOOM. The continuous scary message made me realize that the only way I was going to survive this, was having the right hurricane mindset.

In a world of doom, there is only one way to keep yourself motivated to move forward, POSITIVITY.?It would have been easy to adopt the “poor me” mindset in all the despair around me. I knew for my family, my friends, and most importantly, myself, I had to carry the torch of positivity and find ways to motivate others to do the same.

During the storm and aftermath, I went 10 days with no power and internet, and 4 days with no water. It took 4 days for me to find a bag of ice so we could enjoy some cold bottled water.?

But…

I don’t want you to feel sorry for me.?The stress I had to deal with is nothing compared to those that lost everything.?People emptied their entire life to the curb because their living rooms turned into water parks.?I came through with almost no damage to my home and those I care about are all safe and alive.

Here are the 5 pillars of The Hurricane Mindset

You can’t change the inevitable, so decide how you want to handle it

The hurricane was supposed to make landfall 60 miles north of us.?Each day before the storm hit the news talked about 2 things: it is moving east, and it is strengthening.?With 24 hours’ notice, we were advised that the storm was going directly hit us (the eye went over my home).?We had to decide; stay or go.?Regardless of what decision we made we also had to live with the consequences of that decision.

No matter how much my wife in her best mom’s voice told Hurricane Ian to “go away,” it refused to listen.?That is also true in life.?Things will happen that are out of your control.?No matter what we think we will not be able to change them.?When these moments happen, you have to make a decision and accept any consequences of it.?We decided to stay.?We decided to stay. We felt that we were safer in our concrete house than possibly being stuck on I-75 in traffic in 100+ MPH winds.?

We were lucky.?Our home withstood the winds and rain like a champ, and we stayed safe. It could have been much worse, and regardless of how we felt about it, the consequences were ours to accept, good or bad. The aftermath of those decisions with a certain path is a lot more predictable

Being scared is ok, don’t let it stop you

To say that I was not terrified leading up to and during the storm would be a lie.?It is probably the scariest thing I have ever been through.?I could have panicked, cried, and shut down.?That would have led to me not getting properly prepared before the storm and not being the rock my family needed to get through the storm. That likely would have been detrimental for us, and ultimately affected our survival of Hurricane Ian.?I was not about to accept that fate.

When fear and panic set in leading up to the storm, I knew I had one goal: to survive.?That meant I couldn’t let fear stop me from getting the house prepared, collecting supplies for after the storm, or being there for my family emotionally and physically. I am grateful that I was able to work through that because 140 MPH winds on windows without hurricane shutters would have not been good.?Having a grill, generator, water, and food for after the storm made the first few days much more tolerable.?Knowing that my family was as safe as they could be meant I had people to hug after the storm.

What If I would have let the fear stop me from preparing??I can’t say that it would have been pretty.?I might not have been here to write this article. Instead, I did what was necessary to ensure that no matter how much fear I had, I gave myself and my family the best chance at success.?Don’t let fear stop you from doing what you need to do, instead use it to guide the actions you take to prepare and find success.

Resilience is key when facing adversity

After Hurricane Ian hit, we had no power, internet, or water.?Gasoline and propane were impossible to find. Ice was now a luxury. We were living off-grid.?While some call that a lifestyle, it is not exactly my favorite (I like my AC, internet, and video games).?We had to figure out how to cook meals on the grill and find resources like fuel for the generator, ice, and non-perishable food that could be cooked on the grill. Dinner became what do you want and how the heck am I going to cook it??

At one point we waited 3 hours in line to fill up 2 gas cans and my truck.?Not to mention we had to drive 45 minutes to do that.?It took an entire day for us to get 15 gallons of gas.?Let’s not talk about ice either.?It took me 4 days to find ice.?Cold drinks were a luxury we didn’t have time to deal with (would a cold bottle of water have been great? Yes.?Was it a priority? No.).?

What this all boils down to is simple: when there is no other way you can always find a way. That is the true definition of resilience.

I figured out how to make coffee, pancakes, eggs, and a whole host of other things on the grill, something I had never done.?I did it because I had to eat, not because I wanted to be a pioneer.?In life, we will all be faced with adversity and challenges.?Accept challenges, get creative, and find a way.?It is the key to surviving.

Positivity is the only way to keep moving forward

Fort Myers beach, not too far away from our home, was literally wiped off the map.?Places I had been just a few weeks before, gone.?Friends’ houses with feet of water in them, lives lost, communities devastated, and families emotionally destroyed. This was the picture the news painted.?This was what the world saw.?This is what I lived and will continue to live long after the news stops talking about it.?This is reality, and to be honest, it is pretty damn grim.

However, early on after hearing the news and seeing some pictures of the devastation, I decided, I was going to be a positive force in my destroyed world.?I was going to focus on the joy of surviving.?The fact that the people I cared most about survived.?I was going to live a positive life because devastation and negativity will ultimately destroy all of us.

So yes, I waited 3 hours for gas, it took 4 days to get ice and water, and I had no power or internet for 10 days. But I survived.?My friends and family survived.?My community is committed to rebuilding. ?

I am committed to helping people survive, helping people laugh, helping people cope, and helping people see the positivity: they too survived.

There is nothing more powerful in the world than a genuine smile. When we focus on the good, the world has a way of surrounding us with even more positivity.?From this storm neighbors became a community, good friends became great friends, and great friends became family. ??

Pay it forward in the community

I was lucky to have not sustained any significant damage to my home or my cars.?What little damage I had I was able to fix on the first day after the storm.?For that I am grateful.?There were a lot in the community that did not fare well from this storm.?Frankly, the news has focused on that doom and gloom a bit too much for my taste.?

I mentioned that I was going to be a positive force in my destroyed world.?Well, I started with my community.?

Two days after the storm and long before we had internet or power, I was out in the community.?Helping friends, neighbors of friends, and even strangers. In some cases, it was just yard clean up, in other cases, it was hauling their entire life to the curb because it was destroyed by the storm.?Nonetheless, I was there for them not only to help them with their homes but to give them a reason to smile.?

What was interesting to me was the emotions we witnessed when we showed up and when we left each place where we helped.?The smiles on the faces of those that we helped was infectious. No matter how hard the work was, it needed to get done.?By helping we were able to help them ease the burden they were experiencing as a result of the storm. ?I wasn’t there to gain business or establish friendships. I was there because my community had a need. I had the resources to help them solve their need.?

When you stand by your community, inevitably your community will stand by you when you are in need.?Building that foundation must come unconditionally.?

I did not take one picture at the houses I worked on.?I did not share one social media post about it.?It is not about recognition.?It is about remembering that people are our most valuable resource and when we pay it forward, we open the path that creates?a positive moment in someone else’s life when they are ready.?Positivity breeds positivity and makes the world a better place for all of us.

Wrapping it all up

There is a lot of emotion here. Frankly, it is quite representative of the emotional rollercoaster I have been through over the last few weeks.?But the experience is something that has taught me a lot about myself.?The lessons I talked about above apply so much further than just going through disaster recovery.?

While these are things I learned through the storm, they are a core part of who I was long before the storm.?These are all pillars that have guided my life and business.?They are lessons that we can all learn from and build from.?

Remember:

• The Inevitable will happen, decide how you will handle it and be steadfast in your decision
• It is ok to be scared, just don’t let it stop you from pushing forward
• Being resilient in the unknown is a key success factor
• Positivity breeds positivity.?Set your positive course and guide others to it
• Pay it forward in the community unconditionally

If you would like to donate to victims in need, please support Cape Christian and their Go Fund Me campaign.?They have committed so many resources to Cape Coral and the surrounding communities already and they continue to give.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/hurricane-ian-cape-christian-disaster-relief?