One simple choice you should make in the age of Corona.
“Jenny, does my voice sound scratchy to you?” I ask this subtly so as not to alert her to what I am really thinking.
“You don’t have Coronavirus,” she responds. Nineteen years of marriage has given her highly-tuned worry radar.
“That’s not what I was asking,” I say. That was exactly what I was asking. I wait a few more minutes to throw her off the trail.
“Do my eyes look a little red to you? Like redder than normal?” I ask casually.
“You don’t have Coronavirus,” she responds, not even looking up from her phone to properly check the redness of my eyes.
“I feel congested.” I say, pressing on, as I try to make Jenny play a game of “Couch WebMD” with me. She will have none of it.
“It’s allergy season. You ran five miles today outside. Through a pine forest. It’s spring and you guzzled pollen. You don’t have Coronavirus.” She says.
We’ve had this conversation approximately 97 times and we’ve only been home together for a few days. Please tell me you’ve done this same thing with a spouse or friend? No? It’s only me? Fine.
Last week was weird for all of us. It didn’t have a shape. I never really felt like I knew what day it was or what my proper response was supposed to be. Freak out? Go about business as usual? Something in the middle?
After spinning for a bit, I decided to make a choice. When things feel out of control, you often forget you have those. But the truth is, you do. Even if you have to work from home. Even if you have to self-distance. Even if your job, city and future appear to have changed dramatically. You always have a choice. Here’s one:
Fear or Faith.
This week, you get to choose fear or faith. Regardless of what happens, that’s a choice you have access to every single day.
What does that mean in a practical sense though? Here’s an example:
Ask the news you’re watching and social media you’re using a simple question - Is this feeding my fear or my faith? Is what I’m watching, reading, and listening to, building up my faith or stoking my fear?
It’s not a complicated question, but it is a powerful one.
I caught myself watching a program the other day that had a rolling death toll. It was like a stock ticker, but instead it was tracking global deaths. Was that feeding my fear or my faith? Hmmm, that’s a tough call. Really hard to tell the answer to that one.
What about the friends you’re talking with right now? Do you have that one friend who is constantly predicting global destruction? They didn’t predict the Coronavirus, they didn’t see that coming at all, but now they try to tell you exactly what’s going to happen a year from now? “In mid 2021, we’ll be out of socks. The sock economy is going to completely crash and you’ll have to go barefoot. My uncle is in the sock stock market and he told me.”
Why does every negative prognosticator always have a friend of a friend of a friend who is an expert? I had no idea so many of my friends knew doctors, politicians and high ranking members of the military until last week.
Does engaging with that person who talks about doom like it’s their hobby, lead to more fear or more faith?
If it leads to more fear, you have another choice to make. Change what you’re doing.
That’s why I’m limiting the news I’m watching.
That’s why I’m being more deliberate about the social media I’m engaging with.
That’s why I’m looking for fresh ways to move to action, instead of getting stuck in anger.
One specific way is with Instagram. I’m doing more Instagram live to share new content like:
- Tips I’ve learned from working from home for 7 years.
- Tricks I’ve picked up about career transitions from writing my book “Do Over.”
- Hope I’ve discovered even in the midst of trying times.
On weekday mornings, I’m going to share what I call “The Get Up!” It will be 3-10 minutes of positive content. If you want to see what I’m doing, follow me here: @JonAcuff.
These are weird days, but we’ve got choices too.
Thanks for choosing to read my articles.
I’ll continue to encourage you in the best ways I know how. First though, I have to check with Jenny about this runny nose I’ve developed.
Jon
Head of Solution Delivery, Arvest Bank
4 年Love your content, Jon!
Associate at Roseman Wealth Advisors and Talent Acquisition Consultant at Ministry HR Group / Bright Path HR
4 年Jon, I really appreciate your content! Thank you for this perspective - you are so right. Please keep sharing your thoughts, the world (and I personally!) need more of this positive perspective right now. Thank you for sharing!
Executive Assistant to Director of Special Services at Victor J Andrew High School. Views expressed are my own and not necessarily that of the Organization where I work.
4 年I always enjoy learning about people as they share in their writing. Thank you so much for sharing this experience and time with us. It is a great reminder that even though there is some separation right now, people are still going through some of the very same emotions.
Sales Content Strategist | Copywriter | Direct Response + Conversion Writer
4 年Jon, you're spot on with the faith vs. fear aspect of coping with this time and it's a valuable lens to use when choosing what to do, view or hear. The one caveat that I think is important to make is that far too many people are treating this as a tricky flu season. Spring break trips remain uncanceled. The precautions we all must take to flatten the curve are being ignored with astounding hubris. In other words: many people don't have enough fear. While acknowledging fear can be detrimental to our mental health and we have to be careful, I'd challenge that some of this fear is vital. There are large parts of the population who aren't getting it, from the federal government to individuals, and maybe a combination of sobering fear and facts will help us get back to life as normal sooner—and with as few lives lost as possible.