I grew up in New York City at a time when the city had a reputation for being kind of a tough place. When I was a kid if you didn’t like something there was a set expression ” let’s go kick some ass “. As an adult that’s not my go-to lol! But the fact is this pandemic’s been going on for almost 2 years now, and it’s going to go on for at least another year. It’s time to kick some ass!
The Facts
First, we were told that if we all got vaccinated, the virus of this pandemic would go away. Okay, we weren’t told that but it was implied. If any of us had ever looked at the history of viruses on the planet, we would have known right away this is bologna. No disease has ever been wiped out from the planet with one series of vaccination.
Even the CDC will not define disease as being eradicated until there have been three years of no outbreaks. Polio which was meant to have been wiped out decades ago is still here on earth. What does that tell us about the effectiveness of vaccinations? Not much actually. What it tells us is that people really are not good at taking vaccinations, something we’ve seen again and again during this pandemic.
The real joke here is that it’s not just unvaccinated who are getting sick. The vaccinated are getting ill as well. The vaccine only reduces the intensity of the disease and the likelihood that we’re going to die. This virus in this pandemic is going to be around for quite a while!
We’re only just hearing European nations and even the president of the United States talking about a new strategy for the pandemic accepting that the virus isn’t going anywhere. Here’s what we can count on, government and big business will not react fast enough. Local governments and schools will be overly cautious.
We can’t count on outside forces to save us.
Heck, we can’t even count on them to give us straight information. Not because they don’t care, not because they’re inept, but because this is completely new territory.
How We Are Handling This
No wonder then that as a nation, we’ve had a mixed reaction to the virus of this pandemic. We were told to stay home and we did, to get vaccinated and did. In fact, most people lived in isolation. Many of us rebelled, refused to be vaccinated because we didn’t trust the efficacy of the vaccination or the testing. That led up to it.
The Emotional Fall Out
The interesting thing is that regardless of what side of this coin we fall on, those who believe in the vaccine or those who don’t, we’re all sharing the same emotional base. We’re all frustrated. Many of us feel disempowered in our lives. We are tired of wave after wave of bad news. If it’s not the virus, it’s breakdowns in the supply chain during this pandemic. The new variant, got you down? here is inflation to add to it. If it’s not inflation it’s the possibility of war and Eastern Europe.
We’re not sure what the outcome is going to be. We’re not sure if our kids are even going to school for the rest of the school year half the time. We yearn for life as it was and at the same time, it’s dawning on us that that time is passed. Like every major change, we will need to change with it.
It’s Time For An Ass-Kicking
We can turn our rage on the grocery store, we can act it out through our driving. They’re plenty of stories around of that going on on massive levels here in New York, and I’m going to guess in the rest of the country. We can be furious with the Democrats, we can be furious with the Republicans, but what’s that really getting us? The truth is it’s not somebody else’s butt we need to kick it’s our own.
We Can’t Change What’s On The Outside
That we ever put our trust in outside organizations to fix the problems between our own ears is our fault. We can’t change what’s going on on the outside. We can’t make the world do what we want it to. They won’t fix it to our satisfaction, because they’ve got their own interests that they are fulfilling. The only place where we have direct influence is between our own ears. That is where the ass-kicking must commence!
Between The Ears
It starts with our own mindset. When we live in fear and blame, we give up our power and control to whatever it is we fear and blame. Just look at the words we use when we are in blame:
” This situation where the president says he’s done more than any other president in the history of our government makes me so angry “.
I heard somebody say that the other day. Basically, when we make that kind of statement, we’re saying that someone else is MAKING us feel. We are giving them that power. Other people do not make us feel. They may trigger a feeling in us, but we decide what to do with that feeling. The only space we can control is between our own ears. So why give that power to someone else?
Taking Control
Sure we can’t control the virus itself in this pandemic. We can control what our exposure is. Deciding how isolated we want to live is on us. We can decide how safe or unsafe it is. If we decide we are going to be super careful then that is our choice. We are not victims. We choose how fulfilled we will or won’t be living in isolation.
Letting Go
The first step is to let go of our expectations of what goes on on the outside. The next step is to manage what goes on between our own ears. Feeling restricted? It’s because you are yearning for things beyond the reach of the limitations you have set. Choose goals within the restriction you have made to feel safer and you will begin to experience fulfillment again. It is simple but not easy. What makes it not easy is it requires managing your own focus and choices.
Managing Your Own Thinking
Keeping your eyes on the prize and dismissing thoughts that are not constructive to reaching the goal is a simple idea. Many of us are not accustomed to this level of rigor in our own minds. The challenge is rigor. This is where the ass-kicking really needs to happen!
“But I Liked My Old Life”
Many people loved the old life. It is over. That ship has sailed. Remaining attached to the past is a dead end. In the back of your mind, you may be saying “but I just can’t let go”. That’s normal. We all like consistency and reliability. For most of us, these represent stability. When the outside becomes unstable, we can either resist change or embrace it. We all embrace change eventually. The trick is to start small.
Baby Steps
When generating changes to our thinking and way of life, the trick is to balance a grand vision with baby steps. Start small. Set up some accountability. Get some support. Taking baby steps regularly will take you so much further than making grand changes fast. Our mind rebels against grand change, that is exactly what we all have been experiencing for the last two years! Consciously choosing to move towards a compelling vision through small consistent steps si the way through.
Coming Next
We’ve got another year of people getting covid. Kicking your own ass means creating a vision for your life. Breaking the areas of your life down into small parts and looking at how you want to grow each one of them. Next look at what can you grow in the current environment without taking too much risk? You don’t even have to leave the house to do this. There’s a strategy for fulfilling any goal that you want from inside your house, except maybe world travel 🙂
In our next blog post, we’re going to talk about how to transform our thinking from that of waiting to one of acting. We’re going to break it down into little parts. Parts that anyone can do in baby steps.