I’ll be honest.
For the last 4 weeks, I have actually been at peace with the way life has continued to change before our very eyes.
It wasn’t until this weekend that I actually started to have a little bit of fear start to creep in on me.
It was a slow process actually.
A patient cancelled care until May.
Another patient cancelled care until May.
One postponed until “this all blows over.”
40% of my practice suddenly disappeared over night.
And suddenly I found myself in a position I have not been in since I first started up the practice of hope.
We were blessed to have 2.5 days of work this week.
Now, I’ll be honest and vulnerable again – I was scared shitless yesterday.
Fear, anxiety, doubt, depression – you name it, I experience it.
Stress through the roof.
Why?
Because suddenly I was no longer in control of my practice.
A monster virus has struck fear into the people of America and has caused them to stay at home, afraid to engage with other people for fear of contracting this virus.
It has caused thousands of people to become unemployed overnight.
It has caused thousands of small businesses to close down.
And guess what…this isn’t the first time this has happened in America.
This is not a unique experience for some of the old guard.
But it is a unique experience for some of us who are in our first 5 years of start up in the small business world.
When fear and doubt start to creep in on us, we typically are the eternal optimist.
We seem to have our life together and are the Clydesdale who pull the beer wagon regardless of the circumstances.
To be honest…today I felt like a donkey…
Yet, one of my dear friends reached out to me and reminded me of an affirmation I gave her when the announcement came out for closing all gyms.
It was a podcast from my mentor – Andy Frisella.
This specific podcast is called What Winners Do in Times of Crisis.
Andy makes the point “seeing opportunity in adversity is a choice.”
He notes that it is up to us to choose to believe that something good will come from this!
In fact, he makes the point that there is always something good that comes from a difficult situation.
The choice is actually yours and how you choose to see it.
If you focus on self pity, fear, doubt – you will miss the opportunity 100% of the time.
However, if you enact zero options mentality, and know that the options are death or life…you make the choice to live.
So – now that it is out in the open – am I afraid? Absolutely.
Am I going to let it cripple Hope?
Absolutely Not.
We are here to serve and we will be here to serve.
Hope will prevail in the face of all challenges because that is exactly what Hope stands for.
I have made my choice.
Will you join me and make yours?
