The Coronavirus is spreading. Countries and cities are in lockdown. Our government and businesses are encouraging their employees to work from home, and senior citizens are advised not to leave their houses. It’s a dark and dire time for the global community, so how can you make the best of a bad situation? Here are seven ideas.
- Go for a hike with your family and enjoy the great outdoors. You can explore new trails in your city while keeping a safe distance from others. My family and I hike our neighborhood trail with our dog Cricket. We put a bear bell on her to let the snakes and other creatures know we’re coming. The bell also helps us locate her because she’s a lab with a mind of her own. After being cooped up in our house, it’s nice to go outside and enjoy Mother Nature.
- Read a book. It’s an excellent time to turn off your TV because there is nothing but bad news on the airwaves and there are no sports to watch. Here are a few of my favorite books: The Fountain Head, The Hunt for Red October, Jurassic Park, The Old Man and The Sea, Catch-22, American Rust, Atlas Shrugged, The Firm, Treasure Island, Oil!, The Invisible Man, The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Count of Monte Cristo, The Once and Future King, Lone Survivor, Amateur’s, The Worst Hard Time, The Right Stuff, Moneyball, Into Thin Air, The Perfect Storm, The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, For Whom the Bell Tolls, To Have and Have Not, and The Hobbit.
- Play a game. As a family, we’ve played board games for years. When my daughter was younger, most of the games involved horses like Herd Your Horses or Horse Show. We now play Catan, Ticket to Ride, Hive, Monopoly, Uno, or Mexican Train.
- Learn a new hobby. You can access hundreds of thousands of free platforms online to learn a new language or skill from the comfort of your home. Numerous universities are offering free online courses because of the crisis. I’m learning to play the guitar. I’m horrible, but I’m having fun.
- Fix up your home. Have you been waiting to paint a room, clean your garage, or wash your windows? With time on your hand, you can now tackle your growing to-do list. My daughter and I are going to build two vegetable boxes and a border for our rose garden.
- Write a letter to a friend or family member. A handwritten note is a novelty, so spread some cheer with your penmanship.
- Read the Bible. The Bible has about 365 verses on fear or worry, one for each day. Proverbs is a great place to find wisdom, and it has 31 chapters in Proverbs, one for each day. Psalms, Romans, Hebrews, Galatians, Song of Songs, Ephesians, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the other 56 books are worth a read.
When I was growing up, I played baseball. During one game, while playing left field, a left-handed batter hit a line drive toward me, and because a left-handed batter hit it, it had a wicked slice. It was spinning away from me, and it was too late for me to adjust my path. It got past me and rolled to the fence. We lost the game; I burst into tears, and I thought my life was over. However, it wasn’t the end of the world. My dad, who is left-handed, spent hours hitting me fly balls, and I turned my weakness into a strength.
The world is not going to end tomorrow, and we will live to see another day. Don’t let the weight of the world keep you down. We will defeat the virus. Be strong and keep the faith!
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. ~ Isaiah 11:6
March 19, 2020
Bill Parrott, CFP®, is the President and CEO of Parrott Wealth Management located in Austin, Texas. Parrott Wealth Management is a fee-only, fiduciary, registered investment advisor firm. Our goal is to remove complexity, confusion, and worry from the investment and financial planning process so our clients can pursue a life of purpose. Our firm does not have an asset or fee minimum, and we work with anybody who needs financial help regardless of age, income, or asset level. PWM’s custodian is TD Ameritrade, and our annual fee starts at .5% of your assets and drops depending on the level of your assets.
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