ACT (Action Changes Everything) …
May 02, 2020 05:20PM ● By Annette Briggs
Greetings readers! I think it is truly surreal and unnerving (even alarming) how life can seemingly change in an instant. Life as we know it can turn on a dime, leaving our comfortable “world” of normalcy and predictability, which we work so very hard to cultivate and maintain, flipped and spinning upside down. Things that were so sure to be counted on can become untrustworthy and unreliable, fueling instability while feeding anxiety and fear. Who can I trust? What can I trust to be true? Am I safe and secure? What does tomorrow hold for me … my family?
Familiar questions? Maybe you are wrestling with one or more of them even as you read these words. Friends, sadly, this is where we are today—a world shuttered, dislodged and shaken by the COVID-19 virus—socially, psychologically and economically. Yes, it has reached out and touched nearly all of us spanning the entire globe. Healthcare officials and scientists are desperately searching for effective solutions and answers in the hopes of producing a cure and calming a very nervous public. Government officials in partnership with business leaders and economic experts are feverishly trying stabilize financial economies teetering on very thin tightropes of decision making. The stakes are high and the margins of error are razor thin. Unemployment numbers are climbing to new heights, 401(k) retirement accounts and pension balances are free falling like rain, educational “remote learning” is the new academic normal, to-go orders are exploding, and change is constant!
It’s a sobering fact. The world has and continues to change … every day. American writer and professor of biochemistry, the late Isaac Asimov, said many years ago: “It is change, continuing change, inevitable change, that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account not only the world as it is, but the world as it will be.”
Wow … isn’t this a relevant thought for today? Asimov had his finger on the very pulse of change. But even with the recent difficult changes, I am determined to remain an optimist even while bombarded by the endless cycle of “breaking” news.
I love acronyms. They can help you to organize your thoughts, prioritize your activities, sharpen your vision, and focus your energy. And the one that I feel is most relevant right now is ACT (Action Changes Things). It truly does. The right action can help guide change, which is inevitable, in a direction that is more likely to produce a favorable outcome. Change can be guided by decisive and effective decisions and wise and informed steps of action. As Asimov pointed out, tomorrow’s becoming “world” is very much tethered to the way (right or wrong) that we interpret, process and act on today’s realities. Be wise and smart concerning your “reality.” Your health, finances, relationships and well-being depend on it! Also be safe, listen to wise counsel, and find out the facts about COVID-19.
ACT-ing on your behalf,
