Disaster Is a Gift — and Here’s How to Believe It

When you hear the word disaster, you often think of phenomena like hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires, or any other natural event that causes widespread damage. In modern times we don’t often think of an illness as a global disaster, but this year’s pandemic certainly has shown us just how disastrous a virus can be. Our houses are still intact, but people are reeling from the impact the pandemic has made on our health, society, and economy.

Regardless of the type or category, any life-altering disaster will force us to take a moment to re-evaluate certain things. Are our priorities as they should be? What are we lacking as far as coping skills and practical preparedness? By asking and answering questions like these, we can start to see disaster as a gift, a learning experience to help us better deal with everyday life.

Reset Your Mindset

A disaster can really shake things up, and that doesn’t always have to be a bad thing. The human mindset can get into a rut when it’s not being challenged. Difficult times can give us an entirely new perspective on our priorities and our behaviors. They can also really prove to us exactly what we are capable of.

We often doubt our own abilities until we’re pushed far enough to find ourselves with few other options. If these difficult times are pushing you to your limits, try to welcome that push, no matter how frightening or uncomfortable. It’s actually a great opportunity to tap into your true potential.

This is also a great chance to cultivate more patience with yourself and others. Being forced to slow down can give us time and perspective to reflect on how we deal with people and things that are beyond our control.

Cultivate New Skills

Safety is high on our list of concerns these days. Use this new emphasis on health and safety to learn basic first aid or CPR. Other important skills can include food preservation and gardening (and these may keep increasing in importance). 

If you’re still yearning for some learning, take up an adventurous pastime like rappelling or learning to drive a stick shift. You never know when those might come in handy.

Let Go

If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that so many things are out of our control. When you take a step back and understand this, you’ll see that the only practical thing to do with much of what worries us is to let it go. Take the steps you can take, but for the things you can’t control, try to relax and release.

That may sound easier said than done. If you find this truly difficult, try giving yourself 15 minutes each morning and 15 minutes each evening to be alone and totally quiet. Even if you’ve never meditated before, just giving yourself this quiet time to let thoughts rise and release can be very liberating. It can also help to relieve stress.

Get Things In Order

Sometimes a disaster can cause us to reflect on our own mortality — and this usually is not a comfortable feeling. Believe it or not, though, it’s also a gift. Taking a moment to reflect on how fragile our lives are can help us to better prioritize our time, as well as take the time to get our important affairs in order.

This can include organizing important documents, making arrangements for life insurance, and activating car or home warranties. All of these are important steps you can take to make life more secure and worry-free, both for yourself and your loved ones.

Make Financial Preparations

Sometimes we need the added little push of a bad situation to remind us of how important things like an emergency fund are. Although not a super-exciting topic, the need for financial planning also can be a gift in disguise. 

An emergency fund is not for “if” things go wrong, but rather for “when” things go wrong. Disasters breed expense, and something will eventually pop up requiring you to pay more than you have lying around. If your savings are on point, you’ll be prepared to meet this particular challenge.   

Reduce Debt

Some debt is almost inevitable. But when your financial picture is dominated by debt, it can gravely weaken your resilience during a hardship. Now is a great time to focus on reducing your debt. No one knows what the economy holds in the future, but it’s certain that reducing your debt now will improve your financial position once it becomes clear.

Get Community-Minded

We all need help in some way, and it can be really easy to focus entirely on yourself and your family right now. An isolated mindset, however, can paradoxically lead to more worry and anxiety instead of less. 

After all, if you’re only focusing inward, how will you know who’s out there — either asking for help or offering it to you? The best way to beat this paradox is by looking out into your community and creating some stronger connections there.

Think about ways you can give back to your community. What services can you provide? What items could you donate? Are you getting ready to reboot the promo items for your business? Consider giving out customized hand sanitizer or face masks.

Goodwill is still accepting donations, and nearly all nonprofit agencies can benefit from the time and selflessness of volunteers. Taking care of others can be a great way to get your mind off of your own problems while helping someone else.

Who Will You Be on the Other Side of This?

One of the biggest ways this pandemic could be a gift is by helping each of us evolve into a better, stronger person. The best thing you can do right now is to ask yourself, “Who will I be on the other side of the pandemic?” 

Will you be more compassionate? More community-minded? Will you be more socially responsible? Will you be more financially stable and emotionally resilient? Or more likely to let go of things you can’t control?

This pandemic, like all disasters, is frightening, uncomfortable, and confusing. But it does offer benefits to those who can see and accept them. A disaster can be the worst thing to ever happen in your lifetime, or it can be a gift. The choice is yours.