Is Coronavirus a Curse or a Blessing?
By: Rasheed Hooda
Tags: Personal Development, Entrepreneurship, Business, Life, Life Lessons

Life goes on. You can watch it go by, or you can jump in and be a part of the journey.

We’re facing circumstances we’ve never thought we would. But they’re here now. Whether we like it or not, we need to deal with what is in front of us.

The Coronavirus situation (I refuse to use the C or the P-word because they are fear-inducing) can be a blessing in disguise if we allow it to be.

Nature always corrects itself

Life has a way of fixing the imbalance. We are a part of Nature. We don’t control Nature; it controls us. Just as ignoring your body’s needs lands you in the hospital, and forces pay attention, Nature has played the same hand on a large scale. We, as a society, fell out of balance. By ignoring our responsibility as the Stewart of the planet, we’ve created a situation that required a forced adjustment.

What do you do when a personal calamity forces you to pause and take a look at your life. Do you try to find a quick fix and get back to business as usual, or do you stop and asses what is going on? Is it an inconvenience, or is it an opportunity?

What can you learn from it?

They say that life always provides opportunities to learn. If we can’t determine what it’s trying to teach us, it will make the lesson available again and again. Each consecutive occasion will sound a louder alarm to get our attention.

Our current situation is an equivalent of someone facing a major illness or accident that interrupts their lives in a significant manner. Only, it is not happening to an individual; it is happening to us as a whole. Different societies/nations are dealing with it differently, just as individuals do.

Every action has a reaction; that’s how life operates. China, S. Korea, and Italy, all dealt with the same situation differently, and are now seeing the consequences of the decisions made. The rest of the world can choose to learn from it or not.

Every nation/society has a different lesson to learn, given its own peculiarities. What lessons will we learn?

If we learn the right lessons, we will move forward and prosper. If we don’t learn the lessons offered by this opportunity, we can know for sure that more opportunities will come. The only thing is that the next occasion will bring with it corrections for our compounded mistakes.

What can we do as individuals

Now that we have more free time than we ever thought possible, the time we always complained we didn’t have, what are we going to do with it?

If you are like most Americans, or maybe like most everyone on this planet, chances are you are living from paycheck to paycheck. That means you have no way to pay your monthly bills or money to buy necessities. Hopefully, your government will use the taxes you have paid all these years to help you coast through the difficult times. But that will not change anything once this situation resolves itself.

Learn about money management.

Now is an excellent time to asses your finances. Are you barely making enough to meet your needs, or are you spending everything you make on things that are not necessary? Only you can decide that for yourself. Before you can make any changes, you need to know where you are and what you have.

If there are expenses you can shed without drastically affecting your life, then you can start putting that money aside once we are out of the current situation. The best place to learn about how money works is Robert Kiyosaki’s book Rich Dad, Poor Dad.

Next, find a Meetup group in your area where you can play the game Cash Flow. It uses the principles he teaches in the book. You’ll learn about money management in an enjoyable manner.

Learn about time management.

The truth is you don’t manage time; you manage yourself. By setting priorities, you can decide how to use your time most effectively to live your best life.

With plenty of time on your hand, you may find that there are better and cheaper ways to entertain yourself and your family. You’ll have the double benefit of savings and higher quality of life.

If you’re not used to it, start reading. It is the best way to educate and entertain yourself.

Learn to improve your finances

Whether you are earning enough or not, an increased income can improve your lifestyle.

“Being rich is not about having things, it’s about having options.” ~Chris Rock

We are living in a time in human evolution where access to the marketplace is available to anyone with an internet connection. What do you have or can learn that you can trade for money?

Learn about business and entrepreneurship. It will require a paradigm shift, but you can do it. Strive to have better options if you’re ever faced with a similar situation again.

The Bottom Line

Whether you see the current situation as a problem or a challenge, remember this. Every problem has a solution, and every challenge brings with it an opportunity.

Right now, you have the opportunity of free time. Just as someone confined to bed with an illness, we are restricted in our homes. Just as a severe disease offers an opportunity to change the way one has been treating one’s body and make changes, we have a chance right now to make adjustments to the way we’ve been living.

The question is, are we going to rise to the occasion?

As always, thank you for reading.