Many people are feeling overwhelmed by the doom and gloom. People can’t go to work, the kids are home from school and there is nothing but bad news on social media and the television.

The media and politicians are doing us a disservice right now. The general narrative is one that is fear based and serves no purpose other than to increase our daily anxiety. This is short sighted and nihilistic. I was covering the pandemic extensively when it seemed people in the US were not paying attention not taking it seriously and now it is here. Only now are people starting to grasp the explosive potential of exponential growth to wreak havoc on everything, and we still aren’t fully appreciating it.

Now that coronavirus has arrived in the US and there is little chance of containing it, we need to shift the narrative to one of slowing the spread and why this needs to be done. There has been a lot of talk about “flattening the curve” and sharing of the chart below, but this is not enough for people to really grasp why they should stay indoors and how this whole thing can be a net positive for most of us in the long run.

Source: University of Michigan

To make that case to people, there has to be a focus on the most vulnerable. This that are elderly or with underlying conditions that have a high likelihood, 20% in some cases, of dying by Covid-19. The actions of not going to work, closing businesses and keeping kids home from school is a collective sacrifice to save our elderly and vulnerable population.

Not likely since World War II has the Western world, and it is mostly the Western world since the East Asian countries seemed to have learned their lessons long ago via SARS and Avian flu, been confronted with a threat that has required entire nations to pull together in a concerted, collective effort for good. It’s not just the sense of community, even with what’s going on in the markets and in corporate America, there is a strong case to be optimistic which I would like to share with you all.

The Case for Optimism

There is No Food Shortage – In the US and much of the West, we live in extravagant abundance compared to much of the rest of the world. How many people do many of us know that cook all their meals at home, breakfast, lunch and dinner, 7 days of the week? Probably not a lot. Even those struggling indulge in a night out at a restaurant now and then. On the other side of that coin, I have met some people who I wonder why they even own a refrigerator as it only seems to hold baking soda and take out leftovers. With restaurants and bars closing, much of the food that was sent to those establishments is being diverted to grocery stores. Costco restocks daily and the National Chicken Counsel claims that there are 950 million pounds of chicken stored up, that’s about 3 pounds for every person in the US. All this is even before people have started to divert resources to meet the surge in demand.

Source: New York Times

The panicked buying is also psychological. In neighborhoods in New York City, where immigrants may be used to spotty supply chains in their home countries, there is abundance to be found such as in the Pioneer Market I came across in the Bronx.

Source: Author

Notice all the toilet paper on the top rack by the window. People are used to buying in bulk and deep storage in these areas. Grocery stores sell 75 gallon drums for dry storage as well as 25 and 50 pound bags of rice. There isn’t a whiff of panic in the air. The US has vast food resources it can mobilize to feed its population. In fact the US is one of the few countries that can not only feed itself but exports to the rest of the world because there is too much supply here. Whatever we don’t have we can trade for, which other countries will be happy to do.

In addition, food is even more affordable to us than even our parents and grandparents generation, we spend roughly half on food compared to people in the 1960’s based on a 2015 study.

Source: NPR

There Will be Explosive Post Virus Growth – The dramatic and exceptional rate cuts by the Fed of the past few weeks have essentially made money free to borrow for the short term again and freed up the federal government to lend fiscal assistance in a massive way. When the virus does recede, and it will recede, there will be a wave of refinancing, borrowing by firms and a likely stratospheric rise in the stock market. Pent up demand from people being inside so long will see restaurants, airlines and resorts packed with people who may likely spend more and stay longer to “make up” for the time cooped up inside. Make no mistake that the downturn will come and be sharp but focussing on this underestimates the upside which is also going to be sharp.

We Will be Better Able to Face Adversity – Staying in and learning to work remotely or make due with less for a period of time is scary but it also build character in the moment. Sometimes when our worst fears are realized and we are forced to confront them, we come to the understanding that maybe these things weren’t as bad as we had anticipated but that we had developed a learned fear of them. The only fears an infant has are the fear of falling and loud noises, everything else is a learned fear. Just like we learn those fears, fear of losing your job or business, fear of a recession, fear of losing money, we can also unlearn these fears. We will be able to find other jobs, other business opportunities will come along and we can make money back. Experiencing these things and seeing that each of us can come out of the situation not only ok but stronger, will give many of us the confidence to face even greater adversity going forward. The results will be more confidence and self assuredness for many of us in the future.

This is a Once in a Lifetime Chance to Reassess Our Priorities – Despite working a full day today, I was able to spend time writing, study, have breakfast with my son all before work. While working from home I was able to prepare lunch and dinner during my lunch hour. When the day was done we went to a nearby park where we played together. I would not have been able to have this quality time to make my own food and spend time with my son if I was working in an office. Yes working from home is an adjustment and a bit more socially isolating. There are many tips you can use to maintain your productivity though. Keeping a more rigid schedule, setting lunch and coffee breaks as well as more calls with co-workers to keep in touch all help you break the feeling of isolation as well as push you to keep producing.

Many of us will have to spend extended time with their families for the first time in a while or maybe ever. It doesn’t have to be all to the downside like this story explaining how divorce rates increased in Wuhan after couples were stuck inside together. Rather, many of us can take this opportunity to reconnect with our family and find more reasons to actually want to spend more time with them and value them. If you are feeling challenged in this regard, know that people do it everyday and usually someone has it worse. Although I am not complaining, I am working and living in a studio apartment with my son. His babysitter down the street lives in a one bedroom with her husband and 3 kids ages 16, 8 and 3. If we can do it in these situations so can many of you. In fact, after a while, many of us may have realized how much quality time with our families we have missed chasing careers and wealth.

I think this is the real fear and a risk for corporate America during this pandemic, not the immediate liquidity crisis which is beginning to emerge. If this more flexible and entrepreneurial work from home approach takes hold on a large scale, more people may begin to question why they aren’t working from home more often or just running a business on their own anyway. The thought came across my mind today that even if I were to earn leas money, my quality of life may actually improve if I were to keep a schedule like this all the time and be able to spend more time with my son.

We have a fantastic opportunity here to re-embrace those things which really bring much of us joy in the long run: human connections and a sense of accomplishment. Working from home will push people to be judged on what they produce. Those who can exemplify the self mastery of working more independently may also be unknowingly showcasing their skills for management positions. If that isn’t you, then it can be an opportunity to fill your idle time with more productive work like side projects or hobbies. Either way you choose to approach it, this seems to be a great opportunity to get even better and do even more both as home, with our families and at work.

Perspective

It all depends on the approach we take to this circumstance. We can choose to look at the dark side, feel sorry for ourselves and complain, or we can embrace the opportunity and use it to strengthen our community and family bonds as well as accomplish more in our daily and working lives. Keep in mind that this is a communal sacrifice and we are all doing our part to save lives, let the rest of your actions flow from there.

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