Y2K, West Nile Virus, the Swine Flu, the end of the Myan calendar, Murderers, car crashes, terrorists. Whatever it is there will literally always be something to be scared of. The controversial idea coming your way…. the world never gets any better or worse, it just is. There will always be good and always be bad. The determining factor is what are you focusing on? Are you letting the fear cripple you and bring you life to a halt? If so, stop it. If you allow fear to affect you all the time then life is going to be an unpleasant adventure for you. Obviously the coronavirus is a big deal right now and there is panic like I have never seen as a business coach. I vaguely remember the fear following 911 but I was only 6. I remember the concern over the swine flu but it was nothing like this. Stores are empty, businesses are closing, and the newest limit is no gatherings of more than 10 people. Now, I could easily freak out about this, lock myself in my house, and stop working. But what is that going to accomplish? Absolutely nothing. This week at the ThriveTime business coach Headquarters Clay has been coaching us through how to help our business coaching clients through the mass hysteria that seems to be happening. The best way to combat fear is with facts. So let’s look at the facts. According to the CDC as of March 18th there are only 7,038 confirmed cases in the US and only 97 deaths. In comparison, yesterday alone, 102 people were killed in an automobile accident.
Are you letting the fear cripple you and bring you life to a halt? If so, stop it.
So now that we know some facts about what is actually happening. You have to ask yourself, how are you going to react? What are you going to focus on? You can take every precautionary measure needed but then what are you going to do to provide for you and your family? You can’t stroll into Walmart and try and pay for your avocados with safety measures. For me, I could easily freak out about all the possible outcomes, especially being pregnant, there are endless worse case scenarios that I could dwell on. But I don’t. I choose to continue my life, I still go to work as a business coach, I hang out with my husband, and I still don’t watch the news. Now all this to say it still doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t practice common sense. Wash your hands, avoid those that are sick, eat well, etc..
COVID-19 aside this principle is something that should be applied to your life even when there isn’t a worldwide pandemic. Whatever is happening in your life or your business, just keep moving forward, fear will always be there but whether or not it is crippling is up to us. The only thing that can truly bring your life to a halt is fear, it is not a virus, it is not a food shortage, it is not the economy, it is fear. Fear does not guarantee safety. Fear will only bring poverty. Always remember Franklin D. Roosevelt’s famous quote, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
