Whatever you were concerned about a few weeks ago chances are pretty good your worry didn’t involve life or death consequences or financial ruin. However, today the Coronavirus has thrown both death an financial ruin into the mix. All of a sudden everyone on planet Earth now has a much different frame around their challenges and aspirations in life. Everyone would probably give anything just to have their problems as they were before COVID-19.

But the COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything. That diet you just couldn’t stick to, the money you just couldn’t save, the tasks (large or small) you couldn’t find the time for, the kids that you were going to spend more time with, the people you needed to reach out to ….. all now framed with the possibility of never coming to pass because you or a loved one might be dead from COVID-19 – or too broke to have the same choices. So what to do now?

First, from this moment forward it’s time to get complete control of your own mind. Now negative thoughts and fear could not only prevent you from reaching a goal but could be the difference between life or death for you or a loved one. Literally.  And secondly, we all need more than ever to be united as human beings. We need to be strong not just for ourselves and our loved ones but for our neighbors and strangers that need desperately to see a face reflecting hope.

With regard to whatever worries you – replace it with work.  Find some action, however small, towards mitigating it.  Find joy in simple things and find joy in everything. Don’t wish this time away. Live it. Do the things you can still do and try to add more things you can do every day. Try fasting. Try meditating. Take cold showers. Do push ups. Do jumping jacks. Run outside. Spend time with your kids. Pray.  And whatever work you have – do it impeccably – as if your life depended on it. As an American I know the joys of surplus and excess but there is much joy in simple things and in being minimalist too. However you find joy it is imperative you find it each and every day as suddenly our expiration date could be a lot sooner than we planned.

Life is a gift. Happiness is a choice. And it always has been – even before Coronavirus. Choose to be happy and thankful right now and do whatever you can to spread it.  Our finest hour is now.  Stand up. Stand up in your mind. And Stand up in your life and put every ounce of mental, physical, social and spiritual energy to making things just a little bit better every day. It might not just be yourself that you save. You might save countless others that need your light.  If everyone gives their very best efforts towards one another and towards rebuilding what has been lost we can come back better and stronger than before this calamity.