Ten Virus Victories:

Without a doubt, COVID-19 has impacted each one of us in various ways. Canceled events, delayed vacations, working remotely, online classes, and workforce reductions have taken over our lives for the last 3 months. While many negative activities have shown media outlets, there are some positive things coronavirus has brought forth. Let’s dive into ten of these points.

1. Increased quality time with faith, family, and friends- We all know that the essential things in life are our faith, family, and friends. However, jobs, activities, and our everyday chores take up a lot of our time. COVID-19 cancelations and social distancing have opened up some of our busy schedules. This free time gives us the chance to grow in our faith, enjoy our family, and virtually check up on friends we haven’t talked to in a long time.

2. Better Sanitation SOPs-Work, school, and personal sanitation have improved significantly over the pandemic. Measures like social distancing, wearing masks, and living with a germ-x bottle in hand are not pleasant to maintain. However, if we didn’t have a good habit of washing our hands, we do now! Additionally, plexiglass coverings, building cleanings, and advanced biosecurity measures currently in place probably should have been implemented a long time ago.

3. New methods, activities, and technologies-As mentioned in the point above, the current conditions have enabled advances in numerous areas. Dominos’ “contactless delivery,” The Voice TV show doing virtual singing finals, Microsoft Teams, Zoom call “Happy Hours,” and many other innovative goods and services have helped us get through these unprecedented times.

4. Appreciation for “Essential” Personnel-Going to school and working for the government, I always joked around that I am “essential personnel.” COVID-19 has genuinely made all of us understand how vital some individual’s jobs are to our livelihood. First responders, grocery store workers, medical staff, truck drivers, farmers/ranchers, and government leaders are hard at work trying to keep us healthy, safe, and nourished. Make sure to thank them for their service.

5. Caught up on House “To-Dos”- Remember those tasks that your spouse has been after you about? Now is the perfect time to knock them out. Go repair that broken board, organize the shop, and spray some WD-40 on those squeaky doors!

6. Grateful for things like food, Clorox, and TOILET PAPER- Who would have ever thought that grocery stores would have lines of people outside waiting to enter? Better yet, who would imagine the first product to be out of stock in stores would be good ole Charmin? Coronavirus has made us appreciate the products that we take for granted. Clorox’s germ-killing power, hand sanitizer, and paper towels are some of those limited products we all tried to get our hands-on. With processing plants closing, our food supply system choked up which caused a scare of a meat shortage. Thankfully, we have a strong, sustainable food supply.

7. Increased face-to-face (virtually) communication-A friend of mine mentioned this one a few weeks ago. In normal work operations, email became the dominating communication form. If it wasn’t email, it was a phone call. In our lives, we became more comfortable communicating via text messages or social media. Now, with the social distancing measures, we crave for face-to-face communication. Video conferencing is now one of the top ways to communicate with others. We have needed to work on our face-to-face communication skills. Now is our chance.

8. Saving Fuel and Mileage-While this is not all good; we have to look at this half-full. While budgets are tight, many of us have saved some money on fuel. Additionally, fewer vehicles on the road mean lower fossil fuels emitting into our world. While this is beneficial for us and our world, some of our oil and gas friends suffer. Make sure to give them a helping hand. Oil prices will climb back up eventually.

9. Good Ole Generosity Coming Back- Once said, “Bad times bring out the best in people.” While we may not can congregate together, checking up on people, caring for others, and celebrating in new ways have entered our society. Getting our loved one’s groceries, drive-by birthdays, and calling one another brings out the love we need during these times.

10. Reminded us all to prepare for the next pandemic- While none of us were ready for COVID-19, this is our wake-up call. We must be ready for when bad times occur. Be ready spiritually, emotionally, physically, and financially. As EB’s rule #4 goes, “hope for the best, expect the worse.”

Is COVID-19 an unfortunate event we never would wish have happened? YES! Has COVID-19 caused some adverse effects? YES, many of them! However, this virus has brought forth some positive things as well. We continue to tread through the unknown waters and try to get back to normal conditions. During this time, let’s make the most of the cards we have been dealt.

#COVID19 #Positives #Encouraging