How to find positivity during the chaos that Corona Virus- COVID 19 has inflicted on the world?

Almost the entire world is under isolation, lockdown or stay at home orders. On a normal day each one of us would generate 60,000 thoughts out of which 85% of these thoughts are negative or repetitive. In a normal day it is hard to keep yourself positive, unless you have a strong mind and are disciplined.

I am writing this article while in quarantine and I was initially finding it difficult to be and stay positive when I am isolated, away from family and loved ones, my business is at risk of collapse and it seems like everything is collapsing.  I found that during this time it’s extremely hard to stay positive when there is so much negativity around me; I believe I am not alone. No one I meet is not afraid of the virus, the unknown, loss of job, loss of loved ones and the list goes on.

FEAR is often seen as an abbreviation of False Evidence Appearing Real.  We are gifted with our mind and its power of imagination; so it’s normal that during the COVID 19 pandemic we could imagine death, loss of loved ones, loss of income, illness and the list can go on. However, so long as these things have not happened to you, the FEAR is not real. Instead of using your imaginations normally to stay positive, with this coronavirus situation you may now be abusing it by imagining the worst-case scenario.

People are becoming so anxious because they don’t know what to expect. Anxiety is fear of the unexpected or unknown. “It’s so scary, it’s almost like … I would rather be dead”, are thoughts that come to people amid of all of what is happening. The anxiety, the stress and the fear of the unknown can even trigger people to think of suicide. In USA alone, as of this week, there were 500 cases of suicide recorded during the COVID 19 pandemic so far.  This is a parallel pandemic in making that’s additional to the actual corona virus pandemic.

Governments around the world recognize that mental health and suicide prevention is a real challenge and must be addressed. When I checked in at the quarantine facility, I was given a brochure on mental health and resources with contact details to call if I needed help. When I get my food, I also get mental health tips along with it. The real question is what can you do to keep your mind healthy and help others in need?

The solution is that your mind is like a garden. If you do not put any protective fences around it you should expect that strangers, criminals, animals will intrude. So, the first step is to ring-fence your garden, in this case your mind. I do this by limiting the time that I invest to get informed about what is happening. I time myself, I select specific goals that I want to know and search, and I get out. The second step is to decide what I want to grow in my garden/brain. If you do not plant anything in your garden then you will have weed, bushes, trees or things that you do not want. Therefore, you must be proactive on what you want to grow. I decided that I will be and stay positive even though everything looks negative. I decided that will grow knowledge; so I started reading books on different topics; I started taking courses online; I decided to share knowledge; hence, I wrote this article. I want my mind to be and stay positive.

I am mindful that other people may be finding it difficult to deal with this; therefore, the third step is to invite others to see my garden and inspire them to do the same. I have a daily program to call my family members and friends to share my positive viewpoint on the difficult times we are living.

I find that this is the best time for us to rethink our life, and understand (1) what this means for us; (2) What we can do to prepare for what is happening; (3) How we can use this downtime to learn and grow so when things are back to normal, we are ready to start and resume your life with some meaningful and worthy goals. You can read my other article  or connect with me if you feel overwhelmed by the current situation.