“Blessed are they who see beautiful things in
humble places where other people see nothing.”_Camille Pissarro
Due to the current phenomenon of COVID-19, our free
modern world is suddenly challenged in an unprecedented way.
As a result of the challenging situation we all
face in almost every part of the globe, some people are already suggesting that
the Apocalypse has begun.
However, they are being far more pessimistic than
what the data portray.
Even if the data is that bad, they are forgetting
an essential lesson of survival: our ultimate destiny is never determined by
what happens to us; it is determined by how we view what happens and the
actions we take in response to the situation.
Philosophically, truth
is more important than reality. And the truth is: perspective has the capacity
to transform a hopeless circumstance into a glimmering scenario of faith and
courage. As an American businessman Allen Harold wisely said that our
perspective is “the (only) difference between a mountain and a molehill.”
As a matter of fact, humanity has witnessed and
survived plagues that were far more deadly than what we are witnessing right
now. Therefore, we really need to view things with balanced optimism to thrive
out of the present difficulties.
In his book, ‘Either/Or’ the Danish philosopher, Soren
Kierkegaard points out that with the right perspective in a world of crises,
darkness and restriction, wise men will doggedly search for things to be
grateful for.
But without the right perspective in an
environment of opulent opportunities and the most desirable circumstances,
someone is sure to be bored and miserable.
By that line of reasoning, instead lamenting and
wishing Coronavirus had never happened, we should adopt a positive perspective
by being grateful that it is not worse than it presently is (Remember Black
Death with 40% fatality rate).
And secondly, we should realize that this will
make our modern world stronger, not weaker in the long run.
The current adversity will accelerate research on
how we can gain firmer control on pathogens, going forward. In the words of
Napoleon Hill, the author of ‘Think and Grow Rich,’ “Every adversity has a seed
of equivalent or greater benefit.”
Without a doubt, our challenges provide us with
the greatest opportunity for creativity and progress. Human race have enjoyed better
health and safety from the work of scientists like Louis Pasteur, a French
microbiologist who was motivated to act by the prevalent plague of his time.
Subsequently, his discoveries on vaccination,
microbial fermentation and pasteurization have led to breakthroughs in saving a
lot of lives through prevention and treatment of deadly diseases in Europe and
the world over.
As the author of ‘Unlimited Power,’ Anthony
Robbins once said, “Every problem is a gift. Without them, we wouldn’t grow.”
With the wrong perspective, it is too easy for us
to spend our time lamenting the disastrous hands we are dealt but with the
right perspective, the next course of action is to use every challenge we face as
an immediate source of advancement.
Never forget, the greatest problem is never the difficulties;
the greatest problem is having the wrong perspective in dealing with them as
the Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Carl Jung did say: “It all depends on
how we look at things, and not how they are in themselves.”
Demonstrate the Right Perspective in Our Collective Fight
Against the Deadly Virus
So while other people are choosing to behave like
this is the beginning of the end, choose to spend your time to instill faith
and confidence in the mind of everyone around you.
While other people are choosing to watch
television all day long, saturating their precious minds only with the news of gloom
and doom, divert your own attention to stories of courage, innovation and
resilience.
While others are choosing to remain focused on
thousands of people that are dead, be grateful to God that He has granted
recovery to four times more than the number of fatalities.
You see, the main thing we need to thrive in the
face of a crisis is a term I call ‘determined optimism.’ With it, the world has
survived greater challenges than this, but without it, there is no hope for the
future.
In the end: we must never allow our challenges to
take away our strength. Rather, we should use them to enhance and magnify our latent
power.
Perspective changes everything!
