I'd like to share an idea for how we can shift gears mentally from

paralysing fear into positive action and take some control. We can

beat this or we can let it beat us - it is in our hands (literally!)

S - Strengths - for many countries, lessons can still be learned from

China and countries like Italy and some others who have been so

tragically overwhelmed by the rampant spread of Covid -19.

W - Weaknesses - Kind of obvious - previously unknown virus,

now a pandemic causing a real threat to life and by extension

economies across the world. Another weakness is failure to act

promptly or heed advice from health experts and take individual

responsibility

O - Opportunities - This is really what I want people to think about.

It's easy to feel fatalistic, panicked, the uncertainty of duration and

ultimate impact of this pandemic are like we’ve never experienced

before BUT, I’d like people who may be feeling this way to join

with me in turning this situation on it’s head and look at the

opportunity we may still have – consider this a CHALLENGE

(anyone who knows me, knows I cannot resist one).

We should take pride in each day that we can keep the spread to a
minimum and minimise long term devastating consequences. We

need to all pull together as a community to encourage, remind, call

out behaviours etc – There is nothing new in what we need to do but

by thinking of it as a game that we CAN WIN, it makes us proactive

drivers and decision makers as to how this turns out for all of us and

not bystanders or helpless.

If nothing else, owning your role, shifts the mindset to one of power

and that is needed to avoid sinking into hopelessness – a feeling that

I know is close for many. Every day when new numbers are released

is not a reason to be disheartened, but a clarion call to make sure that

each and every one of us does our utmost to make the next day better

and we can make those numbers come down. We do have the power,

we can control this. It’s NOT going to beat us, it’s merely a matter

of how much damage we PERMIT the virus to do before it is beaten

T – Threats – Is there really any need to spell this out – the threat is

real but so is the solution until a vaccine is found and fully effective

treatments confirmed and available.

It’s not an accident that the “O” in this SWOT analysis is the largest

blurb – I want to urge everyone, whether struggling or not, to try to

shift your mindset to the opportunity to be a leader in this challenge