I believe I was born an optimist. Without a doubt, there have been times in my life when it’s been difficult, at times seemingly impossible, to stay positive.  During those dark times, it has seemed easier to follow the negativity, which can spiral out of control rather quickly.  But, I find that the more I practice positive thinking, the more natural it becomes.

To practice being an optimist, I find it’s best to eliminate as many sources of negativity as possible.  For me, this includes limiting how much time I spend watching the news or reading the newspaper, unfollowing a few “friends” who consistently post negative things on social media channels, making time to spend outside appreciating nature, and reframing challenging/negative times with a positive spin.  You may have heard my mantra before.  But here I go again. I often reframe things by asking myself, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, how am I?”

I’m sure I’m not alone when I say that the COVID-19 pandemic has threatened my optimism in many ways.  Early on, there were days where I couldn’t look at Facebook for more than the time it took me to wish someone a happy birthday.  I couldn’t follow through with our plans to go boondocking (the ultimate in social distancing) out of fear that there wouldn’t be a place for us to go after leaving an RV park.  And I feared we would arrive in our new location only to find it closed to us.

Focusing on the positive over the past nine weeks has taken effort.  I’m sure that it was easier in some ways since we already live a life of self-isolation, have been in areas that have not had large numbers of cases, and choose to live in an area where the weather has allowed me to get outside comfortably. 

What positives do we think will come from all this? We’ve been looking for the positive outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic for weeks.  And here’s what we came up with:

Eight Great Things To Come From the COVID-19 Pandemic:

1. New Medical Advances – With scientists around the world working hard and even collaborating on treatments and a vaccine for COVID-19, maybe they also discover treatments for other diagnoses along the way? 
2. Increased Preparedness – It seems that individuals and businesses alike have a better idea of what we need to prepare for future pandemics.  Hopefully, we will all take what we learned and prepare for any future pandemics.
3. Spending Time Outside – With businesses closed, our choices for where we spend our time have been severely limited.  Getting outside for a walk, bike ride, or just sitting on the patio are ways that we can get outside of the four walls that we have.  And who can’t use a little more Vitamin D in their lives?
4. New Work From Home Opportunities – While there were certainly issues for companies whose employees never worked from home before, many employers will now know that it is possible.  Whether this opens the door for others to travel while working like us or opens the door for people who’ve been unable to leave their house because of mental or physical issues, there will be new opportunities for remote workers.
5. Virtual Communication – While Facetime and other video conference calling existed for many years, not many of us were proficient with it before now.  Video calling forces us to stop multitasking, sit in one place, and spend the time with the person with whom you are talking.  We haven’t been this connected since phones had cords.  😊    
6. Return to Family Life – We see more families out taking walks together than ever.  We see friends posting on Facebook about building a puzzle or playing a board game with their kids.  We hope when people are back to work and soccer practices resume, that this return to family time isn’t completely lost.  
7. Going Out Becomes More Special – With nicer restaurants here in Utah resuming service in their dining rooms, we had our first dinners out.  We can’t tell you how great it was to have someone wait on us, not to do the dishes, and not to eat luke-warm food from a Styrofoam container.  We usually go out a couple of times per week as part of our social outlet and, as such, sometimes take it for granted.  Not now!  Not for a long time! 
8. Cooking at Home –  With limited restaurants open, more people are cooking from home these days than ever.  What better way to control what you are eating and to ensure that your dinner conversation isn’t constantly interrupted?  We have a pantry full of food.  Now it’s time to get cooking!