July 29, 2020
Character is what you do when no one is looking.
Dear Siblings,
What a time to be alive.
So you lost your jobs, and the world has shut down with no real end in sight.
Universities are closing and moving to online learning. Public schools are shut down. Parents are freaking out. Hospitals are in panic mode. Testing stations are overwhelmed. Government subsidies are rushing in to lend support. And you’re sitting at home unsure of what to do.
Here’s how I would think about it.
The world is going to be shut down for the foreseeable future. This could be 2 months, it could be a year; we have no idea. More importantly, you can’t control that. What you can control is what you do with that time. Ryan Holiday calls this dead time or alive time.
Are you going to look back in 6 months and be proud of the work you did? Or are you going to think back that it was a huge waste of time?
The question I’ve been pondering is this: what values will this pandemic reveal? Who am I when the world is falling apart?
Will I choose to be generous, thoughtful, productive, gentle, and kind? Or selfish, reactive, lazy, aggressive, and frustrated?
I could use this time to catch up on movies I missed - I have yet to see all the Marvel movies - and TV shows that are popular - let’s watch the Office again! - but I know that won’t satisfy me or get me closer to my goals.
Or I could use this time to improve myself.
I could set a goal of reading 1 book per week.
I could set a goal of running a half marathon by the end of the year.
I could learn how to use a new software program, like Photoshop or Blender.
I could learn to program in Python, or design a website from scratch.
I could make a commitment to practice German every day.
I could cook amazing meals for my wife every night and show my appreciation for her through my efforts.
Whatever your goal might be, I would think about this situation this way: you’ve been giving a golden ticket where the government is literally paying you to stay home and do whatever you want. The rest of the world is going to waste this time watching TV and playing video games.
It’s the like the whole world is frozen in time for 6 months, and you get a head-start.
If you were given 6 months to get ahead (or catch up) to the rest of the world, what would you do with it?
I for one wouldn’t waste it.
When you look back years from now on this time, what are you going to tell your friends? That you sat around and watched Netflix? Or that it was the inflection point that set you on a new path and changed your life?
That’s up to you.
Good luck,
Your brother.