Fit for Life: What Has COVID-19 Taught YOU?

Fit for Life: What Has COVID-19 Taught YOU?

We are going into week 6 of the shutdown, and you are either getting used to the “new normal” or are going crazy from being cooped up in the house.

Me, personally, I have gotten used to all this and although I am looking forward to opening up, I know there will be a whole new protocol and set of standards to abide by once I do.

Shutting down was a challenge, but by now, I am in a groove, and getting better at operating under these conditions.

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When we do open, it won’t be “business as usual”, so I am going to be faced with another new and bigger challenge when given the green light.

I have a 25-page document to review, and new protocol to practice before we can have the public congregate into our facility, which will add a whole new workload to the way we conduct business, but we need to pivot and change in an instant.

With that being said, I want to share some lessons learned from our current situation, and hopefully, you didn’t waste a good crisis opportunity to learn and make yourself stronger.

Here are some lessons learned.

We need to be able to embrace change and learn to thrive when things don’t go the way we “planned”.

This is easier for some than others, however the ones that embrace the change will do better than the ones that fight change.

I love to change things around, but on my terms. I always look for ways to improve our services and operational procedures by changing & tweaking things for the better, however closing down my business, and changing the entire way we operate, wasn’t on my terms.

We had 2 choices. Go silent, hide, fight change, retreat and wait until the smoke clears, OR enhance our services to our members, deliver it a different way, stay in the game, embrace the change and continue to dominate the industry as the best place to get results in any situation.

We chose option 2 and continued to serve our clients EVEN MORE VALUE while they were on lockdown. We ran 3 different challenges, delivered 2-3 different workouts daily, and stayed MORE engaged with our members than ever before. We will still continue this when we open, and when that day comes, we will embrace the changes needed to supply a safe environment to our members. 

Another lesson learned is that there are always solutions to every problem, you just need to seek them out.

Some people focus on the problem, and others focus on the solution. Again, it comes down to making that choice.

Are you going to be negative, resentful, blame others, cry victim, and go into a tailspin of negativity, or are you going to accept that we have a situation that isn’t going away, and make the best of it?

Yes, we need to recognize the problem, accept we are stuck with it and it’s out of our control, then figure out the best- and worst-case scenarios before taking action.

Don’t get stuck dwelling on the problem, immediately start looking for solutions.

If you are walking around with a “this sucks” attitude, and crying poor me, my business is shut down, then you are making the situation worse. Instead, embrace the change and accept the challenge.

Keep a positive mindset, figure out the worst-case scenario, and try to avoid it.

My worst case would be opening up with 0 members, and a ton of overhead, but we are not going to let that happen.

Instead, I will try to save money, pour into my members so they stay engaged with their health and fitness, and cut back on unnecessary expenses. All while keeping my team employed and happy. That was my solution to the problems we are facing, and I knew that by constantly trying to evolve and change with the climate, we will be in a better position than if we chose the other route.

The scariest lesson that I learned from all this is that we are too dependent on technology.

The virus was scary, because it cost people their lives, caused us to isolate, and will create an economic downturn in the future, but imagine this:

Imagine that our entire technology grid gets hit by a comet, or even an attack by another country, and we lose the internet indefinitely. No phones, no laptops, no streaming movies, no direct deposit, no online banking, no zoom conferences, no research, no GPS mapping systems, NO SOCIAL MEDIA, emails, texts, gif’s, snapchat and on and on. IMAGINE THAT.

Something like that would bring us back to the late eighties, early nineties and probably create such an issue with everyone, it would be even tougher to bounce back than its going to be with our current situation.

We have become so dependent on our devices and the “get it fast, get it now” way of conducting business, that I don’t think we would be able to function without technology. Technology actually saved us through this situation because we all conducted our lives virtually these last 6 weeks, so imagine this situation without it!!

Forget this particular situation and think of what it would be like on a regular basis.

You would need to meet people in person, pick up the phone and make calls, go to the market and buy your own groceries, shop in retail stores for products, talk to people in your presence, read to do research, go out for entertainment, go to the bank to get cash, write checks, and (ok ill stop there, because people reading this might get extreme anxiety).

To me, I liked the way things were before all the tech. I love the fact that technology can enhance our lives with efficiency, and create amazing things, but I don’t like that it controls us and manipulates the way the entire human race exists. Without it, many more would go stir crazy than this Covid19 outbreak, and that scares me more than being temporary locked down in my own house.

Lastly, what we can all learn is that everything will be ok, and we will get through this. The sky didn’t fall, and the world isn’t coming to an end. Some people lost their lives, and some got really sick, however, the majority of us will be fine, and when this is over, we will all look back and use this as a learning experience and take nothing for granted in the future.

Many people were overly dramatic, and many were careless. Some did their part, and others became part of the problem.

The bottom line is that we need to use this time to focus on the things that truly matter in our lives, and that’s our health and our relationships with others.

So, take a minute to reflect back on what this taught you, then show some gratitude that you are still alive and well. From this point on, concentrate on the important things, control what you can, and be willing to cope with what you can’t.

 

Committed to your success,

Matt