Social distancing is not something I’ve ever experienced before, at least not as we are experiencing it in the era of the Corona virus.
It makes total sense to keep your distance from someone who’s ill. I mean, you don’t want to catch whatever they have, right?
But this is something else all together.
We’re afraid of the unknown, that stands to reason as well.
We don’t know how the virus is passed on from person to person, though bodily fluids is the obvious way. But how long does it remain on surfaces, and in the air? Another unknown.
And how about the people who have the virus but show no symptoms? Wow!
I think the scariest part is that the numbers multiply, seemingly overnight.
Don’t let social distancing keep you from life
I’ve seen Facebook posts of apartment complexes that have a music fest. Pretty cool, huh?
I just saw a long line at Dutch Brothers. Consuming something tasty is a great option, in my opinion, despite the little voice that is telling me I will pay for consuming those calories.
I want to ask people to grab a cup of coffee, but then realize that restaurants are closed, only serving take out.
You could call your friends and family. Connect via email or texting. How about Zoom or Skpye or FaceTime?
I’ve been conducting business using Zoom, and that’s kind of fun.
I belong to an organization who has fought moving into the digital world. But they are getting on board with connecting with technology.
Speaking of technology, it’s been good and bad. We have more information at our fingertips, but at the same time, our children have been exposed to way too much.
Will we see a paradigm shift?
Will we do business in a new way moving forward? Do we really need to meet face to face in order to sell products and services?
Don’t get me wrong. Nothing can replace being in the same room with people.
I’m just saying that this experience may cause us to look at things in a different way. Maybe it will be freeing.
We tend to hang onto the things that are familiar to us. We don’t want to let go of the way we’ve always done things. Myself included.
Technology was exciting when it was new. I remember the first time I saw URLs in advertisements. I would run to the computer to check out the website. It didn’t matter that it was something I had no interest in. The fact that I could find more information by going to the computer was awesome!
But at some point, I became overwhelmed by all the information out there. I would never, ever know it all, learn it all, even read it all. I had to be selective.
I had to narrow it down to what would help me move forward, either in business or personally. I had to pick a topic, find the best source and then read just that. Besides, what good is all that knowledge if you don’t apply it? Most of the information out there is things that don’t apply to me, and maybe not to you. But it does to someone.
Finding new ways to do things
What excites me about social distancing (and don’t get me wrong, I have moments where I want to scream or cry because my life has been disrupted) but what excites me is to see people step out of the box . . . to find new ways to do things, to be innovative, to use the tools in their toolbox that they might have forgotten about in order to keep going.
What lessons have you learned so far?
Are you a fighter or a victim?
When we come out of this, and we will, what’s the first thing you’ll do?
- Start a rainy day savings account
- Go into business for yourself
- Create that course you always wanted
- Start a YouTube channel and share your knowledge, about anything. There’s something someone can learn from you
- Start a blog
- Write a book
You know what? Most of those things you can do right now, while you’re waiting for the ‘all clear’ so we can get back to life outside our homes.
Why not start now?
Look at your website and see it through the eyes of your customers.
Write that first blog post.
Start that first chapter.
Make a list of all the things you know.
What can you teach someone to do?
It doesn’t have to be good, you’ll get better.
It doesn’t have to be long, the next one will be longer.
Just start. Do something besides watching TV, worrying or feeling sorry for yourself.
Take the challenge to rise above these temporary circumstances.
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