We can see lack and loss. Or, we can see opportunity.
2022 Update: I wrote this article in 2020, at the very beginning of the covid outbreak in NYC, on a cold morning at 5am, before my kids woke up. Now, two years later, I think the mindset I talk about in this article is relevant for every curve ball life offers. No matter the curve ball, we can always choose to see opportunity.
Today, I want to talk to you about opportunity.
In the past few weeks, I’ve seen people become more generous. I’ve seen people unite. I’ve seen people kindly and genuinely applaud others. I’ve seen people question what’s right and what isn’t. I’ve seen people get together virtually in big groups for global meditations.
People are using this time as an opportunity to become more compassionate.
Maybe we took a step back, but we can take two steps forward from here.
We can react with fear and irrationality to what is happening right now. But we can also react with intelligence and generosity.
We can see lack and loss. Or, we can see opportunity to evolve and to be kinder.
This is a choice we will all have to make.
Yes, it is hard to make this choice given the current circumstances. Yes, perhaps there will be times coming up when it will be even harder than right now to make this choice. However, it is possible to make the choice to focus our minds on opportunity, not on loss. Even in the direst of conditions, it is possible to make the choice to feel peace and intelligence, not fear and chaos.
Fear kills intelligence. Fear numbs you and fear makes you irrational. Without intelligence, you can’t find opportunities for growth, abundance, and profit.
The internet says that this is a time of chaos. It can be a time of chaos, if you choose to look at it that way. But it can also be a time of opportunity, if you choose to look at it differently.
This is a time of disruption and a time of change. Disruption and change are not “chaos.” Disruption and change can mean new beginnings, if you choose to view things this way.
It’s an opportunity to show up and to show what we’re made of.
Are we people who help, or are we people who don’t have others’ best interests at heart? Are we people who can keep calm, or people who get frantic?
Wayne Dyer used to offer an analogy. He said, what happens when you squeeze an orange? Do you get orange juice or a different type of liquid? When you squeeze anything, you only get the liquid that is inside of it. You can’t spill what you don’t have inside. Under stress, it is people’s true nature that shows up.
It’s an opportunity to learn to be abundant using what we already have.
Most people feel abundant only when they get a pile of money, a car, or a new house. But true, lasting and prolific abundance happens when you learn to be abundant with the resources you already have. With the money you already have, the fresh air that already exists outside of your window, the trees on your street, the email list you already have, and so much more. This time is a great opportunity to practice this skill of learning to receive the bounty of what you already have.
It’s an opportunity to get creative with the resources we have.
Maybe, for a little while, we won’t have as many resources as we had before, but we will learn to make make do with what we have.
It’s an opportunity to share your products differently.
Real estate agents are giving video tours, for the first time ever. My son’s favorite art program is now selling online classes, for the first time ever. Don’t give up. This time is an opportunity to adapt and to find new ways to reach your customers and sell products.
It’s an opportunity to re-evaluate your business and your work life.
Question what’s been working so far and what hasn’t been working so far. Question the investments you’ve made so far and how you’ve reached people until now. Question the types of products you’ve sold so far. Question the decision you’ve made to only sell the products you’ve sold so far. Evaluate, make new choices and pivot if you need to.
It’s an opportunity for all of us to be generous to our brothers and sisters, our fellow human beings.
To share what we have, to lend a helping hand and to offer kind words and kind thoughts. It is an opportunity to unite with love and in love, not to “kill” the virus, but to elevate the world’s consciousness and to position ourselves for the massive well-being that we want all our future generations to enjoy.
It’s an opportunity to allow our creativity to blossom.
Isaac Newton developed the theory of gravity during the 1665 lockdown caused by the bubonic plague. Some people’s creativity is bubbling up right now, in spite of the given conditions. They feel energized to create and to work on fulfilling projects. Many of the projects they’ve been working on until now seem irrelevant. They want something new, something that makes them feel alive.
If you feel this way, make a choice. Do you allow this new type of creativity to blossom, or do you brush it under the rug? Will you bring to life these new, thriving things that want to be born through your work, or will you postpone them?
It’s an opportunity to question the choices we’ve made so far.
We’re stuck inside with the choices we’ve made so far in our lives. We’ve made choices about where we live, how our kids are raised, how we spend our time, how we work, how we connect with others, how we make money, the support we’ve created for ourselves for times of emergency, and so much more. How are these choices working out? What should we change when this is all over?
It’s an opportunity to become introspective and to practice talking to yourself with love and acceptance.
It’s an opportunity to take care of your body.
It’s an opportunity to spend time with your family.
It’s an opportunity to learn to be at peace with what is.
It’s an opportunity to count the blessings we already have.
It’s an opportunity to choose love, over fear and over anything else.