Covid-19: With Common Goals, Discipline, and Determination We Will Prevail

These are challenging times. The future is uncertain for all of us. Questions like “Will I get the virus?”, “will I still have a job?”, “How will I pay my bills?”, “Who won’t survive?” and “When will we be able to get back to normal?” abound, and nobody knows the answer to any of them.

Frequently people in society have differing goals. Just look at American politics today, one party has a goal 180 degrees different from the other. I think the virus is different. Everyone wants the same thing; we all share the same goals of surviving and ultimately beating the coronavirus in the end. The measures we have taken so far may or may not prove to be effective, but Henry David Thoreau said it best “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” Now that we have our castle in the air, What about the foundation?

Lofty goals must come first, plans come later. Plans need to be monitored and modified. The founder of Alibaba, Jack Ma, once said, “Never give up. Today is hard, tomorrow will be worse, but the day after tomorrow will be sunshine.” We do not see sunny skies just yet, but we have already seen some encouraging signs that we will prevail. Hydroxychloroquine, pop-up hospitals, massive manufacturing efforts to produce life-saving respirators, and the CARES act are just a few. Some initiatives and recommendations may prove useless, others miraculous, but over time, we will have more and more focus with our plans. Earl Nightingale, who was one of only fifteen survivors of the USS Arizona Pearl Harbor disaster, claimed that “success is the progressive realization of a worthy goal.” The keyword here is “progressive”. We learn as we go, especially in these uncharted waters. Still, ultimately, with careful observation of results and the discipline to do what is needed, we make progress toward our goals.

When I go out to the market, I witness everyone using extreme caution to distance themselves from each other. I see almost no cars on the road. Most businesses have closed down. About 100% of us are doing everything as directed by our leaders, and even more, if we think it can help. Nobody is complaining much, despite the hardships. I am proud of my fellow Americans and everyone else around the world doing the right thing. You are awesome. I give everyone’s discipline and A+.

 Isamael Aun Weor once said, “Whoever submits himself to a super-discipline can expect great triumphs.” Discipline is important because it is rooted in worthy goals, not idle thoughts and desires. The Dalai Lama goes so far as to tell us that a disciplined mind leads to happiness, and an undisciplined mind leads to suffering.

Last but not least, we have the determination. Since I seem to be in a quoting sort of mood today, I can’t leave out my favorite, Winston Churchill, who once famously said, “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

 I think that we will all look back on these times with clarity one day with a sense of real accomplishment. When that day comes, I hope we can give three cheers for ourselves, our lofty goals, our discipline, and our determination. My hope is that we can heed the lessons learned from the pandemic and use them in other aspects of our lives. As a healthcare practitioner, I would love to see more people aspiring to be healthier as a goal, have the discipline to achieve their desires, and the determination to stay the course. Stay safe out there, and keep being awesome.