What this pandemic is trying to test and teach us?

 A framework to cope and come out little better on the other end.

When the year 2020 has begun, life for most of the people was normal. In fact, we were happier and more excited as we celebrated Christmas and new year. Stock markets across the world reached new highs. Majority of us had jobs and were looking forward to what this year would bring. Then, there was news that Wuhan city in China has reported a “viral pneumonia” but no one hardly paid any attention as we haven’t had the tools to predict what is about to unfold.

Come March, the spread of the virus was so dramatic that it touched everyone’s life on the planet directly or indirectly. Countries across the globe started to shut down their borders. World Health Organisation (WHO) has declared the virus as pandemic. Governments started to report exponential growth in the number of citizens impacted with the virus. We haven’t had much time to prepare what we are about to go through.

Thanks to capitalism, several companies are racing to produce a vaccine for this virus. Governments are taking measures to protect their citizens. I am very thankful for living in a country where our Prime Minister and other health officials are doing great job fighting the pandemic and putting the required measures. As responsible citizens, I think we can all follow the guidelines.

Additionally, I am very thankful for the support provided by my employer Telstra Purple throughout these tough times.

How this pandemic is trying to test us?

If we look back in the history, humans have faced similar deadly pandemics in the past – Spanish Flu, SARS, Plague, Cholera to name a few. Numerous lives were lost, and much more damage was done. Most importantly, we as a human race have collectively come out relatively stronger, and those pandemics are a history now.

The ugly truth about the current pandemic and crisis is the sheer scale and ability to touch every person’s life on the planet directly or indirectly. My prayers are with those who have fought this battle and people who have lost their lives. My heart gets heavy every time I hear the number of people who left this world due to the virus.

Is this just a health crisis or something more? How this virus is affecting us indirectly? Famous author Yuval Noah Harari in his Sapiens - A Brief History of Humankind points out that as human being at an individual level we are not better than a chimpanzee. He argues that if we were to leave a healthy human and a chimpanzee in a jungle alone, he bets that chimpanzee has more chance of surviving than a healthy human. His point is that at an individual level, we are no better than any animal. However, our advantage as a human race is our ability to cooperate collectively, share knowledge, learn and thrive against all odds that we face.

I believe this pandemic is trying to test this very basic nature that makes us human – can we collectively cooperate? Can we adapt quickly to the changing environment and new normal life? Can we be more kind to each other even when the getting on with day-to-day life gets tough? When a world leader is calling the virus “China Virus”, can we still think and act as rational humans and treat fellow humans as we want to be treated irrespective of their race, nationality, colour, religion or cultural background? Can our governments cooperate openly and share knowledge to find a vaccine, share learnings and find better ways to fight this pandemic? Can we follow the guidelines laid out by the local authorities to protect us from spreading the virus without complaining? Can our organisations do whatever they can do minimise the impact on their employees?

These are the questions we need to ask ourselves at an individual level. You walk into a super market and someone about 10 meters away from you sneezes, can you stop worrying that you may get infected or at least don’t look at the person or treat him as if he/she is from another planet. He/she may have already been tested negative for virus and the sneeze is merely because of the swab test he/she went for that morning. This is what it all comes down to – CAN WE STILL STAY POSITIVE, BE KIND, THINK AND ACT RATIONALLY EVEN WHEN THE WHOLE WORLD IS CONSPIRING AGAINST US, AND THRIVE COLLECTIVELY?

When we destroy the forests and focus merely on the consumerism, we never pause for a second to think about what we are doing to the mother nature. We have been bestowed with all the natural resources that we need to thrive as human race, yet we forget the damage we are causing everyday to the mother nature and rarely be grateful. When the mother nature pauses for a moment in the form of pandemics or natural disasters to recover from the damage we been doing so far, can we complain about it?

A framework to deal with this a little better

If we look at this pandemic at an individual level, we all should at least follow the guidelines given by the local authorities and health officials. Precautions such as wearing masks, sensitisation, maintaining the distance etc. should all become part of our daily life. These measures will not only protect the individuals from contacting the virus but also slows down the spread of the virus. But what can we do about the impact this pandemic has indirectly upon us? For example, what about indirect impact such as you might have recently lost your job, your close family member might have been succumbed to the virus or the sheer pressure of handling your work and looking after your kids as they are learning from home? How do you deal with these indirect impacts?

Below is a simple framework to deal with these tough times a little better. I am no health or financial expert, but I strongly believe focusing on these areas will help tremendously.

Mental Wellbeing

If you have not contracted the virus, that’s awesome news and kudos to you for following the guidelines and protecting yourself and your family. But, how are you dealing with the new normal of wearing a mask every time you go out? How are you managing the new work-from-home and home schooling for your children? How are you dealing with the reduced work-hours or worst-case the job you lost recently? How are you dealing with the situations when your loved ones are in the hospital or in aged care and you cannot visit them? How are you dealing with the uncertainty of not knowing when this is all going to be over and when you can return to your normal life? These are just a few scenarios but in practical life people are facing with more complicated situations that we can’t even imagine.

There is no doubt this situation has tremendous negative impact on our mental wellbeing.

Some of the things we can do to improve our mental wellbeing:

• Stay positive
• Be grateful for what you got
• Be more kind and practice compassion
• Think rationally
• Meditate
• Stay away from negative media and gossip
• Read more books

Physical Wellbeing

Have you checked your weight recently? Most of us have stopped going to work. Stopped going on holidays. Stopped going outdoors as much as we used to. Stopped taking kids to parks. Travel has slowed down worldwide. All these factors have huge impact on our physical wellbeing.

Consider the following to improve physical wellbeing:

• Stay physically active
• Walk as much as you can and avoid driving
• Maintain a daily routine
• Take mini projects such as removing the clutter in the house, fixing the backyard etc.
• Spend more time with kids

Financial Wellbeing

This pandemic has destroyed us financially in every aspect. Millions of people lost their jobs. Unemployment is at record levels across the world. This pandemic has destroyed hundreds and thousands of small businesses. Governments across the world are doing everything they can do keep the economy afloat.

Following are some of things we do to protect ourselves financially:

• Maintain emergency fund
• Educate yourself on personal finance
• Learn new skills
• Do online courses and certifications
• Avoid clearing your super account
• Shop around for better deals – mortgage, energy provider, health insurance etc.
• Cut back on unnecessary spending
• Look at the possibility of side hustles

Conclusion

There is no doubt that we are living through tough times which we have never seen before. However, we can all get through this by focusing on what we can control instead of thinking about things we have no control over. Instead of breaking our heads about when the vaccine will be made available, we can instead focus on following the guidelines provided by the health officials. Instead of complaining about government subsidies, we can focus on controlling our finances. The list goes on. The point is doing what we can with what we got instead of relying on government or other to help us.

We are all in this together and we will all come out little stronger when this is all over. Stay safe.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are completely my own. My employer or any other organization has no influence in this article.