There will no doubt be a lot of questions in people’s minds with the rapid changes we face as we are forced to confront the realities of COVID – 19.

Some of the questions some may fear to voice could be,

“Is my job safe? “If I lose my job how will I pay the mortgage?”, “Will my aging Mum be OK?”

A certain amount of fear is natural and healthy because it keeps us safe. Some fears take on a life of their own and begin to elaborate into recurring stories in our head. There is a quote I heard, and I cannot find the source.

90% of what you worry about never happens.

There is already a great deal of advice available on what you should be doing right now to look after yourself and your family so I will not repeat that advice. There is the concept of distraction that can assist when dealing with difficult times. During my recovery from depression I would switch from feeling great to feeling very down and discouraged. That was depressing as I wondered how long it would take before I could respond to events, hurts, and slights in a manner that I determined would be a healthy response.

During that time, I realised I could hack my brain with distraction. My wife says I am a nerd! Each day I share facts that are fascinating to me. My wife responds with “and that is my factoid for the day” I respond with, “Just hit like and subscribe” As she left for work this morning she was looking in my direction and pretending to listen to me telling her about a virus found in the salt marshes of an estuary in England has found to be effective in controlling superbugs. Amazing! Amazing to me. When I hear certain things, I dive right in as I am truly fascinated. This is the distraction that makes up the quirkiness of me.

How can I use this distraction? Let’s go back to the Andrew recovering from depression. If I was having a problem with a recurring worry that was stuck in my head I would make a purchase. For example, I purchased a digital camera. It came with quite a thick instruction manual. I determined I would learn every feature, tool and setting on the camera. This led me to many websites and a great deal of on line learning. This preoccupation closed my mind too the recurring worry that existed in my head prior to the purchase of the camera.

What changed? I was still recovering from depression; my circumstances were still the same. I was still on extended leave I had lost my job, but a benevolent workplace had promised me another job with less responsibility. Those things were still the same. What I focused on was different. My new camera was now front of mind.

I contract to Learning Works and deliver free Leadership Training to First Line Managers. Learning Works is a great organisation to work for. The cohort of facilitators are a group of positive people who support each other and deal with change as part of their work. The advent of Covid-19 prompted thoughts on how we could deliver our programs when people are avoiding gatherings and limiting social contact. The team of facilitators coupled with the internal work initiated within Learning Works led to plans for an online delivery method. What I appreciated was the positive attitude displayed by all the stakeholders. My concerns over COVID-19 were displaced by a measure of excitement to learn a great deal more about the capacity of online forums.

Covid-19 is still here and making its presence known. A planned workshop on Recovery from Depression that I was invited to facilitate has now transitioned to a total online event. Yesterday I spent time with the organiser via a Zoom meeting discussing how we would run the course and testing items and videos to be delivered.

There are regular phone chats with a good friend and one of my fellow facilitators, Paul Watkins. Paul is also a Marketing Consultant. He and I regularly chat about developing trends and opportunities. He related to me that discussion on the immediate future includes an increase in the time people spend on their hobbies.

Paul has cancelled a month-long trip to Europe. His calendar was booked out for April. It is now empty. Yes, of course he is disappointed about the trip he and his wife were looking forward to but is he despondent? No. He is focusing on how he will convert the now free time he has at home in to business development.

In his book, The Small Changes That Change Everything by Bj Fogg states that the secret to changing behaviour and achieving goals is when motivation, ability and a prompt come together.

Many of us will have extra time on our hands. We can work on some of those things we have wanted to get started or finish for some time. We can move into motivation as we accept that 90% of what we worry about never happens and cautiously with preparedness move through the challenges of the virus. The Covid-19 virus is the prompt.

We will see what we focus on.

We will soon be closing our Jiu Jitsu club until further notice. For a practitioner of Jiu Jitsu being unable to train is a challenge and psychologically almost discouraging. I was training last night with one of my club mates. He had been training hard for a fight which has just been cancelled. My thinking now is I can practice all those solo drills that I have not spent enough time on. I will be able to research and mentally drill many techniques.

This is exciting for me. I see the opportunity. The compassion for those struggling is still present. I will do what I can to help. I will see what I focus on.

Eat well, sleep well eat good food. Do what you can to help and support.