“…..One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger–but recognize the opportunity.” – John F Kennedy
Introduction
In times of crisis, we may only see the dangers and hopelessness that come with a crisis because of the uncertainty and fear. However, despite the negative things associated with a crisis, take some time out and reflect on the opportunities out of a crisis. Sometimes when we think about opportunities, we may be thinking about monetary stuff. While this may be true in many cases, there are some opportunities that you can explore or embrace that does not require spending money or making money.
The Opportunity to draw closer to God
This virus has caught all of us with our pants down. No one expected this virus to be so impactful. The brightest minds in the world cannot figure out how to stop the spread of this virus. Leaders throughout the world who doubted the existence of God is now calling on God. This virus is indeed an opportunity to draw closer to God. We were so caught up in material possessions and not even checking for God. We were so caught up working every day including Sundays and didn’t have time for God. Now some of the things that we were busy fighting over are either reduced or not available.
By having this opportunity of being drawer closer to God, we should realize by now while it is important to plan, our plans are not necessarily God’s plans. Therefore stay with God so he can direct you on the plans he has for you.
The Opportunity to unite
Prior to this virus, we were so divided either over politics, family, race and money. This crisis is an opportunity for us to come to a realization that the things that divide us are meaningless. This crisis has taught us that this virus does not discriminate so why are we discriminating against each other over politics, family, race and wealth. We need to come together and forget about our colour of our skin or the party we support.
The Opportunity for family time
Many of us forgo our family time in pursuit of career and wealth. Many times even though we may eventually be physically present in our homes, we barely know our family because by the time we reach home it is very late and some members of our family are already asleep. This crisis is forcing us to remain home and even though some of us will be working at home, we will have an opportunity to spend ample time with our family. This is an opportunity to renew our commitment to our families.
The Opportunity to be creative
In many countries, we were so dependent on tourism. With this crisis, we now have an opportunity to be creative in our business. We do not know how long this crisis will last but we have an opportunity to develop and create other business opportunities to survive.
The Opportunity to appreciate the basic things in life.
Many times in life, we take so many things for granted. We were taught basic hygiene but we defer from it in this fast world. We know that fruits and vegetables are good for us but yet we push them aside to eat and drink so much unhealthy foods and drinks. We now have an opportunity to practice basic hygiene and to eat healthy foods so we can strengthen our immune system.
The Opportunity to shine
If you make the right decisions during crisis, it gives you an opportunity to shine not that you need validation from anyone. However, many times you may have been overlooked because everything else is going well and when a crisis takes place, most people are fearful. However, if you can be calm and respond effectively during this crisis, this is a great opportunity to shine despite your faults of the past.
Conclusion
The last sentence of the quote by John F Kennedy stated “In a crisis, be aware of the danger but recognize the opportunity. There are always opportunities in every situation. You need to look beyond how things look but rather look ahead as to how you can make things better.