The benefits of crisis

I do my best to be an optimist in life. As Winston Churchill said, there is not much use being anything else. I realise that things are difficult for many people at the moment. Besides some people getting sick there are tremendous concerns about peoples future as they can’t work, can’t get the supplies they need or fear for the safety of loved ones. With this in mind, I am not trying to sugarcoat or diminish anyone's suffering. However, it is important to remember that every event in life brings opportunity for growth and change. This is true for individuals as well as societies.

Think about the most difficult challenges that you have overcome in life. Did you become stronger from the experience? If you see yourself as a victim you may not have but if you faced your fears and worked to overcome a challenge you will have learned and grown from the experience. Any difficult challenge that we experience in life provides us contrast and helps us recognise things we want to change. Sometimes the difficulties that we face in the short term create long term positive change.

From an environmental perspective, we currently see waterways clearing up as ship traffic decreases and air quality improving with fewer cars on the road in certain places of the world. All this in a very short time. This shows us the impact we are having on the world and how quickly we can improve things. The US is considering a type of universal basic income to overcome the financial challenge currently facing their country. The current conditions could fundamentally change the direction of our economic systems. On an individual level, you may learn to be grateful for your health and your family putting in perspective the things the normally stress you. You may realise something you lost was overdue for a change. You may realise your priorities have been out of order.

In the Hindu religion, the God Shiva is known as the destroyer by some but also as the God of creation and transformation. Crisis often comes into our lives when we have ignored the signals that there is a need for change. This can bring distraction leading to a rebuilding. As Carl Jung said, what we resist persists and the crisis we experience in our personal lives, just as the one the world is currently experiencing, may be a result of our resistance to change.

Times of crisis can be a rebirth so instead of resisting what is or panicking about an unclear future, trust that you are ready for change, growth and evolution. If you remain stuck in the past, feel like a victim or fight against what you are afraid of you may overlook the benefits that your crisis is providing you. In difficult situations focus on what you can change since everything else is out of your control. This is how you get through a crisis. Benefiting from a crisis is when you recognise that it will make you stronger and wiser thank you were before.