Upshift, downshift, move forward. This is a lockdown - we'll need to brave the economic meltdown.

I haven't chosen a professional shot of mine for this article, but hey, what the heck! These are extraordinary times and we all draw courage from our past experiences - professional as well as personal. And why shouldn't we, right?

The pandemic is real. It's reached our neighbourhoods and it's brought with it a lot of fear, panic, and uncertainty. An economic meltdown is sure to follow this civil lockdown and this means unemployment, job losses, bad debts and a lot more. Our well-greased, fast-revving careers and lifestyles have suddenly become jerky and people working in certain industries stand to lose a lot - Travel and Hospitality I know for sure will suffer.

I have friends in the industry - friends and colleagues, some of whom I've had the honour of knowing very closely. The last few weeks have been tough, and we know this meltdown is only going to make it tougher - it will take a toll on our mental wellbeing and it could break the toughest of us.

I see friends calculating savings, chasing their pending receivables, smoking extra cigarettes and finishing bottles they have in reserve at home. Anxiety is natural, panic is natural, depression too is natural - but it must be managed before it does damage. This post is dedicated to a friend who I know has recently been to the edge, and thankfully returned - bruised, but not dead. Well done my friend, you fared well you stupid bum!

What we must understand is that it is not just our lives, but the whole industry, country and economy that's been affected. It's a global pandemic and the best of countries are staring at months of uncertainty, not know how to save lives, let alone save the economy. This fallout will have a domino effect and all of us will be hit, in some way or the other. What we must do, is have faith in the age-old adage "When you're going through tough times - keep going".

A lof of the workforce will become redundant and it may take months for the economy to recover. This may mean taking a pay cut, a new role, learning a new skill, being part of a new team, moving job, city or country, and perhaps - being on the bench, without pay. Buyouts, consolidation and bankruptcies will happen. New ones will climb to the top and many at the top will topple, only to learn better and climb again.

In this cycle, it's critical to give credit to ourselves for how we have fared so far, how far we have come, how we have progressed, how we have learnt so much, survived so much, achieved so much and there's no reason we wouldn't do better in the times to come. It is okay to reach out to family, friends and colleagues for support at this time- financial and psychological. It may seem like biting a sour lemon but in the long term, we're worth much more than becoming another 'fallen one', a victim of this meltdown. It is okay to talk, to share, to reason, to admit and to ask for help. There's no merit in driving drunk into a tree for fear of having our loved ones know the difficult times we're battling. The point of having a family and a social circle is to get support in times of trouble. Reach out, it is okay. Keep moving and it will all be okay.

It is okay. We've battled so much in the past, we'll battle this too, in the end - we'll have a helluva 'story of grit' to tell our kids. What will though, be foolish - is to have survived this storm, and not learnt anything. As weeks progress and the medical world nears a solution to this pandemic and we manage our financial challenges, our learnings will evolve - the basics though will remain the same. The basics have remained the same forever, we perhaps needed a stern reminder.

Work hard, party hard, aspire, build something new, write, learn to live with limited means, don't mount debt, save up, build a reserve, build skills, have a plan B, make friends, don't cheat, don't break trust, keep the faith, grow a spine, take care of your team, spend time with family, show empathy, be resilient, don't abuse alcohol, don't abuse drugs, don't f**k around, run, lift and eat clean.

Move on bravely, don't give up.