By: Atty. Gregorio B. Austral, CPA
The Lockdown Mentality
The mind is supposed to explore every inch of the universe that can be reached through imagination. This paves the way to the creation of something which has never been thought as possible before. As we hide in the fortress of our homes due to the scourge of COVID-19, the limitless capability of our mind to dream big or at least to plan for the months ahead is unconsciously locked down within the four walls of our homes. Worst, we may have been seeing blank walls with nothing beyond.
This is an accurate account of how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected my life’s perspective while staying at home during the Enhanced Community Quarantine. Thankfully, I was compelled to go out to fulfill a sworn duty as a member of a media organization. Gradually, I realized that the world outside is not as perilous as it seems for as long as you strictly follow the health protocols. Don’t misconstrue me, you still cannot go out and do things recklessly.
The current health crisis that we have is certainly the greatest disruption that we have experienced in modern times. Life has been forced to a standstill, depriving many people of their jobs and means of livelihood. Businesses, big or small, have kneeled on the ground, resetting almost everything back to square one. For many of those whose mentality is still on lockdown, the only thing to do is just try to survive. Plan later when the crisis is over.
However, every crisis presents an opportunity. When many people or businesses are still grappling on how to survive, the creative mind rises from the ground as quickly as possible while many others are still trying to understand their situation, or worse, think that the virus that kills is waiting at their doorstep. It’s time to accept that there are now things that we cannot do under the new normal. As the WHO says, the virus may possibly not go away. We need to learn how to live with it (of course, not by getting infected).
Along the streets are dying businesses and a grim picture of an economy in recession. Should we allow ourselves to ride on the downward slope? A famous restaurant may have lost its dine-in guests, but this does not stop it from cooking delicious food. The what is still there, what is changed is the how. What can be the best solution to a tourism industry at risk of extinction? Well, maybe we should begin first by refusing to think that it is dying. For those who rested on their laurels of success before the pandemic, the game has changed. Let us stop thinking that old tricks still work. It is now the time to create something new, to explore the perilous unchartered seas. But to do this, we need to conquer our fears. Let us free our mind from the crippling cell that seems to protect us but gradually suffocates us to death. Innovate. It is the only way to survive the greatest disruption.