No one has escaped this COVID-19 pandemic unscathed. Whether it has been investments, daily routines, employment, business deals, or social life, we’ve all had at least one thing negatively impacted. Rather than grieving over any setback, the fourth installment of Strategies for Success Amid COVID-19 is concentrated on how to focus on opportunities during the pandemic.
Inspired by The “Scary Times” Manual by Dan Sullivan and Strategic Coach, Alexander’s is sharing this series of 10 blog posts focused on 10 strategies to help support growth and positive thinking during uncertain times.
“Things you had and may have taken for granted sometimes disappear. Some people never get over this. They keep trying to replay their old games. A better strategy is to start an entirely new game — using new ideas, new energies, new tools and new resources. As the world changes, opportunities suddenly become available to achieve far more than you ever did in the past.”
– Dan Sullivan, Strategic Coach
Forget About Your Losses, Focus On Your Opportunities
Now is not the time to feel sorry for your losses. This mindset is not productive and in many ways can lead to further loss. Instead, the trick in these situations is to remain as positive as possible while keeping your mind focused on what opportunities you still have.
With that being said, the famous quote from Alexander Graham Bell has likely already popped into your head.
“When one door closes, another opens.”
Interestingly enough, there is more to Bell’s quote than just the short phrase that is frequently recited. He goes on to say,
“… but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”
The full quote communicates that everything isn’t just about the door that has slammed shut in your face or even the door that is wide open with seemingly endless opportunities. Instead, Bell is implying that it’s all about where your focus is.
It’s human nature to often resist change, even if we know it isn’t bad. The thought of altering our lives in anything more than minor ways has the potential to thrust us out of our comfort zones and into an unknown position. In Bell’s world, we may be just stubborn enough to stare at the closed door long enough to miss the other door as it swings open.
COVID-19 has closed quite a few doors, to say the least. However, the door of opportunity continues to swing open in every aspect of our lives. While it’s tempting to stare at the closed door of what life used to be, below are five tips on how you can turn your focus to what life can be.
How To Focus on Opportunities During The Pandemic
1. Be Positive
Negativity quickly slips into your mind, immediately disrupting your positivity and productivity. The more positive you are, the easier time you’re going to have combating pessimistic thoughts that start to creep into your head. Positivity is contagious so try to surround yourself with positive people. Your positivity and their positivity will benefit the state of mind of all those involved. Take time to do things that bring joy to your life and look for ways to add inspiration to your day.
2. Focus On Solutions, Not On Problems
We want to worry about all the problems going on. Letting the anxiety rule our mind causes the issue to grow and limits your productivity. Instead, change your mindset to believe in and search for a solution. It will definitely take your full effort as you’ll have to adjust and continue to readjust your mentality. If you’re not searching for a solution, then you’re more than likely never going to find it.
3. Accept that change is inevitable
As mentioned above, we don’t often look forward to change and we’re thrown off when we’re faced with it. Taking the time to mentally and emotionally accept that change is a part of life will help us be more relaxed when solutions cause us to make big adjustments.
4. Don’t let fear drive your decision making
Keep your mind from running wild when faced with a situation that might be a little frightening. Learn to ask yourself, “What is the worst that could happen?” More often than not, the realistic worst-case scenario is not nearly as bad as the nightmarish one that a fear-fueled mind can concoct. Find at at least one thing that can help clear your mind. Consider going for a walk, exercising, writing in a journal, meditating or calling a buddy. Try out different things until you find what works best for you. Ultimately, find what works best so that you can ensure you’re making levelheaded decisions.
5. Take Care Of Your Body
Don’t forget that you have physical needs. Having to deal with stressful situations when you’re body and mind are not in a good place makes finding solutions much harder. Make sure that you’re still doing the basics: get enough sleep, take time to exercise and eat healthy. Don’t overwork yourself that these things get overlooked.
More strategies…
We hope that you use this series as a resource to continue to progress during times of uncertainty. Follow Alexander’s on LinkedIn and Instagram as we feature six more strategies to progress and remain positive in negative situations during COVID-19.
Strategies For Success Amid COVID-19:
1. Forget about yourself, focus on others
2. Developing client and work relationships
3. How to create value for clients
4. Focus on your opportunities
5. Why you should focus on your progress, not your challenges
6. Forget about the future, focus on today
7. Six ways to focus on your future self
8. How to respond to unexpected events
9. Focus on your available resources
10. How to be more grateful
