Tag: Coronavirus

Categories
motivation

How do I know if something is too risky?

Cartoon of a boy and a shark. The shark says, "Hey, Buddy! Let me know when you're going to get in the water, okay?"

When we would take family trips to Florida in the summer, it seemed that no matter what week we took, The Discovery Channel was playing Shark Week. There was nothing like watching shark attacks the evening before, then going to the beach. I probably had those experiences in mind when I posted this cartoon.

Watching Shark Week didn’t prevent us from going to the beach. We laughed about the over-the-top stories. Sure, some of them were harrowing and we took what we could learn from them. We knew it was more dangerous to wade in the water at sunrise or sunset. We realized we needed to be aware of our surroundings in the water. But it didn’t prevent us from having a good time.

Leadership in Risky Times

Today, leaders are facing all kinds of decisions involving risk. COVID-19 is causing business, government, and institutional leaders to make some tough decisions.

  • When should we open businesses?
  • When and how should we open churches?
  • Where and when should we wear masks?
  • How do you enforce social distancing without being authoritarian?
  • What will be the best way to get kids back in school this fall?

It would be nice if the answers were as obvious as a shark enticing a bather with fake sincerity. There are a lot of unknowns. Our decisions will be complicated with the understanding there will be some risk that wasn’t there last year. Yet, all of us will have to take on some of that risk to move forward.

The odds of being attacked by a shark are 1 in 11.5 million even when you only include people who go to a beach. We are still trying to get a handle on how likely someone is likely to get the coronavirus. It will likely increase as time moves on. In any case, it will be best to continue practices such as social distancing, frequent handwashing, and sanitizing surfaces. We will need to learn how to live with this virus while maintaining safe practices and restarting our lives.

Cartoon of a boy and a shark. The shark says, "Hey, Buddy! Let me know when you're going to get in the water, okay?"
Categories
Parenting Cartoons

Should parents give up and let their kids watch TV?

Cartoon of a mom and a son. The mom says, "I don't care if all the TV moms would let you do it. I won't!"

When I drew this cartoon, I had a senior in high school and an eighth-grader. In recent weeks, I have thought about how I would have handled this crisis if it happened nine years ago. I ache for the seniors that have had their final year in high school or college flipped upside down.

Parents, I know you are facing challenges that are unprecedented. I can’t say I know exactly how it feels, because who has faced parenting under these circumstances? The closest thing I can relate to it is a midwestern winter that caused our kids to miss more than a week of school. Yes, I know it’s worse for this group of kids and parents!

Encouraging Words for Parents

It’s okay to let your kids watch some television. After all, this has been a tough time to be a parent. some of you have had to figure out how to work from home while homeschooling your kids. School districts realize this has been a challenge. Some have given up on remote learning for the rest of the year. Parents with more than one child have to be overwhelmed.

It’s okay to admit you are overwhelmed. You are not alone. Millions of families are going through the same struggle. We will all learn from it and be prepared for the fall. In the meantime, give yourself some grace. If school professionals are overwhelmed, you have permission to be as well.

Your kids may have spent a lot of time staring at screens. If they aren’t in front of it for learning, it may be the closest, most convenient entertainment. That’s okay. Give yourself some grace if you think they’ve had too much screen time. There will always be tomorrow. Acknowledge that today is done and you can plan for screen-free activities the next day.

Know that if you are frustrated and overwhelmed, your kids are too. Some are missing their friends. Others are mourning the abrupt end to the school year or their high school years. Give your kids the time and space to grieve. Yet also help them see they do have a future beyond this.

And if your child tries to compare you to a TV Mom or Dad, you can safely remind them that none of those one-dimensional parents had to deal with a pandemic. It’s apples and oranges my friends. Be encouraged. This crisis will one day end.

Cartoon of a mom and a son. The mom says, "I don't care if all the TV moms would let you do it. I won't!"

Categories
Attitude motivation

Does complaining do any good?

Cartoon of two women next to a wilted plant. One woman says, "It's a valuable plant. When I complain, it wilts."

When I drew this cartoon and posted my blog, Wilted Complaints, I was preaching to myself. Three years after this post, I got into a bad habit of complaining. I rendered myself ineffective at work because I let challenges overwhelm me. Instead of working on the problem, I would complain with colleagues about how insurmountable the odds were. Meetings weren’t effective. The planning seemed pointless. It was all because I was stuck in a complaining mode.

What about venting? Can I vent?

When tensions are high, or when we are in a situation alike a coronavirus lockdown, we all need to vent a little. If I don’t talk with my wife about what’s bugging me, it will simply build up.

The Web Economic Forum has an article on why it’s okay to vent about the coronavirus as long as it doesn’t become a habit. We are naturally going to be frustrated when things aren’t going the way we like. And very few people are excited about being in lockdown for several weeks (with the exceptions of some dogs and hermits).

The problem with a complaining habit is that it doesn’t solve anything.

  • It absolves me of responsibility
  • Instead of speaking life into a situation, it speaks death
  • It lets things fester like picking a scab
  • It doesn’t make for a pleasant companion (and who wants to isolate even further?)

I am starting to read a book entitled, The No Complaining Rule: Positive Ways to Deal With Negativity at Work by Jon Gordon. I’ll let you know about the highlights. Complaining is a habit that is too easy to start. Let’s find ways to be positive today and keep our plants from wilting.

Cartoon of two women next to a wilted plant. One woman says, "It's a valuable plant. When I complain, it wilts."
Categories
motivation

How can I Improve My Economy?

Cartoon of a boy with a bandage over a dollar bill. he says to his dad, "Now that I fixed the economy, can we talk about something else?"

The current crises with the novel coronavirus may cause you to ask, “How can I improve my financial outlook during the COVID-19 outbreak?”

We’ve been through economic hardship before. When I drew this cartoon, we were going through the last economic crisis thanks to the housing bubble and junk mortgages. Many people found they owed more on their homes than they were worth. It definitely affected the 2008 election.

That felt overwhelming. Now we face a new economic crisis. According to The Wall Street Journal, this may be the worst downturn since the 1940s. Many businesses have been shuttered for over a month. There cautious talk about opening businesses. Yet, the virus that has dominated our thoughts for weeks is far from conquered. While some governments are allowing businesses to open, some business owners have chosen to stay closed because they feel it is too soon.

How can I improve my economy when everything feels so uncertain right now?

There are a few lessons I learned from the last financial crisis.

  • Focus on the things you can control
    • You can control your attitude
    • You can control your outlook
    • You can practice safe distancing and hygiene to prevent this virus from spreading
    • You can control how kind and helpful you are to others
    • You can plan for the future
    • You can change tactics even if it feels uncomfortable
    • You can make a situation worse or better by your actions
    • You can limit your news consumption so you’re not listening to the same doom and gloom for hours on end
    • You can listen to positive, uplifting music, audiobooks or podcasts
  • Let go of the things you can’t control
    • You can’t control nature
      • today’s weather
      • the novel coronavirus
      • that skunk on your biking trail
    • You can’t control another person’s actions or reactions
    • You can’t control governments and politicians (though you can make your voice heard by voting and calling those who represent you)
  • Start brainstorming of what this makes possible today
    • Can you learn a new skill?
    • Can you launch a new business that thrives in the new reality?
    • Can you volunteer in a position you always wanted to do?

Putting a bandage over a dollar isn’t going to fix the economy. Individually, we may not be able to fix the macroeconomy. However, each one of us can affect our microeconomy. Each one of us is an economy unto ourselves. It may be difficult while negative events are still unfolding. However, our attitude, combined with faith, hope, and a plan, can get us through the other side of this crisis. And remember: there will be another side of this. Keep the faith, and keep looking up!

Cartoon of a boy with a bandage over a dollar bill. he says to his dad, "Now that I fixed the economy, can we talk about something else?"
Categories
creativity motivation

Thinking Outside the Cereal Box

Cartoon of a mom and a son at breakfast. The son says, "I want something different for breakfast. What about seven-layer bean dip?"

Across the county, Breakfast has been reclaimed! Until the lockdown, it was an infrequent meal that few of us ate because we thought we were too busy. If we did eat it, we gulped down a quick pastry or breakfast sandwich as we ran out the door. Now, most of us have time for the first meal. In fact, this event has caused breakfast cereal companies to increase their ad spend. Here is one part of the economy that is benefiting from all this fun!

Ads for breakfast foods a ray of sunshine for media amid coronavirus cutbacks.

New York Post

Yes, there are plenty of businesses and people that are suffering financially right now. However, there are probably other examples where businesses are thriving. Perhaps they are seeing an uptick when they were languishing a few months before.

It is easy to get into the mindset that the news portrays. Yes, there are still plenty of people affected by this. I have certainly felt the effects. However, We can also ask ourselves what does this moment make possible? What can you do now that you never would have before we were told to hunker down? What is a new skill or business venture that you can start? How can you show kindness and care to those in your community? What can you do to prepare for the reopening of businesses and travel?

One thing I would not recommend is trying a seven-layer bean dip for breakfast. It will make the rest of the day feel funky. Not that I’ve tried it before…

Cartoon of a mom and a son at breakfast. The son says, "I want something different for breakfast. What about seven-layer bean dip?"