When I was 9, maybe 10, we went to Adventureland. A small, regional amusement park in Des Moines (“you’re gonna have a fun-filled day!”)

One of the rides was called the “Silly Silo” and it was famous around town for making kids puke. It was basically a washing machine for humans. You stepped in, the ride started, and it spun you,

Around and
Around and
Around and
Around.

Until it stopped. (And that’s when people puked.)

Some thought It was fun.
All I remember thinking was how miserable it was.
I couldn’t wait to get off and never go on again.

Why?
Why?
Why?

Why do people look at a crisis like #COVID19 and react the way that they do?

It’s maybe the first time in human history where we’ve all been presented with the same information (COVID-19), at the same time (2020), in the same place (globe).

What causes someone to react one way and another person to react in the complete opposite way?

I’ve caught myself reacting to the news in ways that surprised me.

Maybe you have too.

If you feel yourself getting sucked into a version of yourself you don’t like or recognize, here are the steps I’ve taken in the past week to recalibrate.

1.) GROUND YOURSELF IN REALITY

Here’s the reality: people are going to die from this virus. People you know might die from this. You might die. I might die. It’s possible. And there’s no avoiding this reality.

There are about a million other ways you could die, every single day. But, if you’re reading this, you’re not dead yet (and neither am I). Woohoo! We made it!

To get a good context on what we’re looking at, Viktor Frankl’s “Man Search For Meaning” or Anne Frank’s “The Diary Of A Young Girl” paint very sober pictures of what the true reality of suffering looks like.

We ain’t there yet. Not by a long shot.

This may suck. But we, the people, have suffered through worse.

2.) TRAIN YOURSELF TO SEE OPPORTUNITY

This is one of those rare situations where — seemingly overnight — people have become more of who they already are.

Optimists get more optimistic.
Pessimists get more pessimistic.
Most of us fall somewhere in-between.

This is great news though because you can quite literally choose your reality.

The fact is, we truly do not know the far-reaching effects of COVID–19. No one does.

Why?

Because it’s never happened before.

There’s no grid or context or precedent for a situation like this.

Here’s the truth:

My calendar has never been more full than it has been this week.

Entrepreneurs, business owners, coaches, consultants, non-profit leaders…they all need help getting clear on how to market and lead their businesses in a time of TREMENDOUS crisis.

They’re all focused on solutions and progress and moving forward.

They’re focused on finding the opportunities.

You know what’s crazy?

Each person I’ve talked to has a horror story of a competitor or friend or vendor whose *already* been crushed by this virus. When I ask what led them to book a call this week (of all weeks), they say something like…

“I don’t want that to happen to me!”

If you’re focused on opportunity, it doesn’t make you any less susceptible to the effects of the virus fallout. We’re all dealing with the same reality here.

But what it DOES do is give you eyes to see and ears to hear how to move forward when everyone else is standing still, stunned.

There ARE businesses to be built & grown.
There IS good news about this blasted virus.
There ARE families being healed.
There IS hope for YOU.

It’s like that old adage,

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”

But the teacher’s name here is Mrs. Opportunity and she’s just WAITING to be discovered.

3 .) TUNE OUT THE NEGATIVITY

I called a dear friend and mentor late last week and told him I was helplessly trapped in the “Doom Loop.”

It seemed like everywhere I turned there was another article or interview or tweet or post declaring the end was, in fact, nigh.

I felt:

• afraid

• fearful

• confused

• hopeless

• scared

• tired

…and I couldn’t shake myself out of it.

You know what he said?

“Get off Twitter.”

So I did.

1. Within 2 hours my mood had lightened.

2. Within 12 hours I was able to feel my feelings again.

3. Within 24 hours I was hopeful again.

And this week? I’m back to pre-disaster levels of hope.

It’s not willful ignorance, either (believe me…that was my loudest concern). It’s a conscious choice to focus on what’s going RIGHT instead of what’s going WRONG.

Anything that jeopardizes that choice gets tossed outside the window…including my beloved Twitter.

I know EXACTLY how I’d get myself stuck in the Doom Loop again. Only, I don’t want to go there. I much prefer to steer clear of the people, places, and sites whose *only* goal is to stoke the fires of fear and dread.

Save the drama for ya mama.

The Doom Loop is available to you 24/7. It’s always open. Ready to take you for a spin. Unrelenting.

No one’s going to stop you from jumping in.

And riding it til you puke.

…

To get more stories just like this, visit ThereIsNoSpoon.co.