You Have All You Need To Weather The Crisis

It was my birthday the other day and I reflected on the half century that I’ve been alive.

I’ve experienced stockmarket crashes, a property slump, recessions, almost going bankrupt, being up to my eyes in debt with no income, a stressful exit from the business I founded, and losing money on a number of other business ventures.

So I like to think I have a fair idea of the pressure many people are under and the stress they are feeling during the current crisis. As I know from personal experience, when times get tough, if you have little or no savings to fall back on and/or your income has fallen or stopped, you can feel under siege and overwhelmed, as you focus on trying to survive the next few weeks or months.

While you do need to face up to your current reality, it is also important not to catastrophise or over blow the situation. If you have no savings, what can you sell or cash in to get some? If your income has fallen or stopped, what financial support is available or what work could you do (there are hundreds of thousands of vacancies of jobs and even if they are modestly paid and unglamorous, they will generate an income).

Make a plan, take the first actions and be prepared to be flexible and adaptable.

However the COVID-19 situation is affecting your finances and whatever you are doing to navigate through the challenges, it is important to remember what you do have and what you have not lost.

You still have your most important and valuable assets: skills, energy (assuming you are not affected by the virus), reputation, experience, capabilities, contacts, relationships, time, attitude, and integrity. Money and wealth doesn’t come from your employer, your business or even the government. It comes from you and using your human capital to deliver value.

As I found from my previous financial struggles, I had all that I needed to weather those financial storms, and so do you to get through the CORONA-19 crisis. Change your mindset from one of scarcity to abundance and be ready for all the good things the world wants to send you.