Look, everyone is talking about it, and there is a lot of noise out there in terms of Coronavirus (COVID-19) not being “that bad,” and we should “just go back to work,” and….stop!
This is serious.
People are losing the ability to breathe due to this respiratory illness and the full spectrum of symptoms isn’t 100% clear yet. Total confirmed cases in the United States just rose above 35,000 people. Italy lost over 650 people in less than a day. More than 13,000 people have already died from Coronavirus (5,476 have come from Italy alone).
Take. This. Seriously.
Just because you are in an age group that isn’t “at-risk” doesn’t mean that you aren’t carrying the Coronavirus. Again, the full scope of symptoms is not clear as of yet.
Not to mention, spring is in full swing and with it has come a ton of pollen. Your immune system may very well be compromised due to allergies or the flu which could also leave you susceptible to COVID-19 should you not take the precautionary measures being suggested by so many.
We don’t know who is carrying the disease. We don’t know what the disease is living on. Also, we don’t know a lot. This thing is dangerous. It’s serious. And across the globe people are more concerned with: partying on Spring Break (looking at you Miami), ignoring the warning signs in their own back yards, and making a mockery of this very serious disease saying “it’s not that serious” when hospitals are reaching their breaking point and people are dying left and right.
Would you like to be the person who has to choose between who lives or dies? No.
So…Take. This. Seriously.
1. Enforce Social Distancing
This one is extremely important. “But I’m a hugger.” Yep, me too. But guess what? I might be carrying COVID-19 and I don’t want to pass it along to you to potentially pass it along to your grandmother, or brother, or whomever you see in the next few days or weeks. Nor would I want you to pass it along to me.
“We still don’t know to what extent people without symptoms can infect,” said Jennifer Nuzzo, a senior scholar and infectious disease expert at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. You don’t know who you are encountering or who they have encountered or who either one of you will encounter throughout the days of this virus outbreak.
“But bro…I gotta get my lifts in! I’ll lose all these mad gains!” Calm down, son. You won’t lose muscle as fast as you think, and honestly, not working out and weakening your immune system might be good for you for a bit. Oh, and those weights you keep leaving out for everyone else to put away and clean because you’re too busy posting selfies on social media? Yeah, that’s gotta stop. So please be mindful of others and of yourself.
“Researchers currently believe one infected person generally infects two to more than three others, which would make the new coronavirus more contagious than seasonal flu, SARS and MERS.” *
You don’t know who’s life (or lives) you’re really saving.
And can we give a massive shout-out to the healthcare workers who are dealing with the volume of people not listening to them and their requests? If you don’t have to leave the house, don’t. If they are pleading and begging you to stay home so that they can flatten the curve, then please do so as much as possible.
It may cause problems at first, but you must…
2. Have The Conversations Now
Benjamin Franklin said it best: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
Things just got a lot different, I know. But have your difficult conversations as soon as possible. Talk to your grandparents and urge them to stay home—there are plenty of amazing humans who are helping the elderly out with running errands for them and giving them a hand when they need it.
Your parents and loved ones might want to all get together and quarantine together—have the conversation. Especially for those of you who don’t live at home or aren’t comfortable traveling right now, you have to have the conversation. With your spouse, significant other, roommate, etc. talk to them. You need to be on the same page and attack this together.
Maybe you will disagree. You will be in a confined space. You will need to lean on one another. Be generous. If you’re home alone or on your own for a period of time, then I would encourage you to make the most out of your social distancing and journal, meditate, read, play music, dance, watch the 18 TV shows you’ve been wanting to see but “never had the time.” You’ve got some time now.
And, what better way to touch base with old friends than through social media. I’m not the biggest fan of socials all the time, but wow are they making a case for themselves now! Plus, so many people out there are offering at-home opportunities.
I for one have already put together multiple at-home workout programs via my Trainerize site with my Buckingham Fitness App .
And for all you out there wondering what will happen with your job, talk to your boss.
Look, at the end of the day, we are all replaceable. Life will go on when you’re not at that company or when you’re not working for her brand anymore or when your team decides to leave you.
We are all replaceable.
So have the conversations early to avoid problems in the future. Because I’ve got to tell you, there are plenty of problems now. I reached out to all of my Buckingham Fitness members and stayed in constant contact with them as the gym navigated what our policy was going to be moving forward.
Honestly, I think I over-communicated to them, but that’s because I had so many questions myself, that I wanted to make sure they knew I had their back and realized that this was a situation that affects us all.
Have the conversations. Especially have them so you can…
3. Keep Moving Forward
Yes, have your moments to grieve the situation. I know I have. But then you must continue to move forward. Don’t let this opportunity for growth be the downfall of you, your family, your business, or your relationships. Yes, I truly believe this can be a time for growth. Take advantage of it.
Life will continue to go on. Your kids will continue to look up to you for guidance and advice. Your family will need you as the centerpiece to keep them all together. You can be afraid, you can have your doubts, and you can have moments of weakness (Hell, I’d be amazed if you didn’t). But you must keep moving forward.
No matter how bad it gets. No matter the amount of money you lose. And no matter the hurt and pain and suffering that this may cause. You must keep moving forward.
And lastly…
4. Remember to Breathe
I know, it’s a respiratory illness so saying this one is a little “on the nose,” don’t you think? Well, yes. But it’s still applicable. There is a sense of underlying panic out there. Look at the stock market.
Look at the reactive measure being taken by countries (once things got bad enough, then people started acting). Also, look at the way people are behaving over toilet paper.
Take a second to breathe. Are things new? 100%. Does that automatically make them scary or difficult? No. Yes, many things will change because of this outbreak. Never has time for online education or learning been more pertinent. So take advantage of this. The government(s) are still figuring out how to compensate those for loss of work and lack of funds.
Take this time to put things in order and learn new skills: filing your taxes (we all know you’ve been putting it off), building healthy habits and routines, learn how to do new high-income skills (copywriting, sales, social media, etc.), and putting together a safety net for your finances are just a few things you can do to put yourself ahead.
Look, the very nature of how business is conducted will change forever because of this – are you going to be prepared or are you going to wallow in the “newness” of it all?
Breathe.
We are all going to be okay if we take this seriously and listen to the experts.
There are a few actionable things we can truly do. For those of us that are action takers…it’s tough to sit back and wait, but sadly, that might be exactly what we have to do during this time (in certain areas at least).
The actions we know we can take:
- Wash your hands with soap to stop the spread of COVID-19 from your hands
- Be mindful not to touch your face (seriously, count how many times you touch your face during the day and you will be astonished)
- Enforce social distancing immediately—staying at home is best
- Work on long-term projects that you’ve been putting off or haven’t had the “time” to do.
- Check-in on loved ones and see if you can do anything to help
Remember, that this too shall pass. But it will pass much faster, and with fewer causalities if we stick together by staying apart.
If you’re looking for at-home workouts, Buckingham Fitness has put together a week’s worth of workouts for you through the Facebook page and YouTube channel – links below:
Sources:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
https://www.vox.com/2020/2/20/21143785/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-transmission-how
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/share-facts.html
