This might be the fourth or fifth Apocalypse that I’ve survived in my life, I literally grew up training for the end of the world. If you follow me, then you know that I grew up in a religious, doomsday cult, the Children of God. If not, feel free to check out my site daniellamestyanekyoung.com and you’ll find yourself fascinated by the story.

In the cult, we had a prophet and we believed his every word—we lived our lives by it. He predicted the end of the world over and over again, on specific dates, like in the 70s, the year 1993 and, of course, Y2K (from Heaven, to his successor, no less), but also generally—we were soldiers in the army of God, preparing constantly for the End Times, which were guaranteed to happen sooner rather than later. As kids, we were told repeatedly that we would likely never even reach the age of 25, and that we’d most likely be called on by God to die as martyrs for our beliefs—a terrifying prospect to a 6-year-old, let me tell you. One of the most extreme results is that we didn’t go to school, because it was evil, for sure, but also, what was the point in spending 16-20 years pursuing higher education when all you needed was to read and write and trust God?

As I write this, I’m happy to say I’m almost 33 and the world still hasn’t ended. I’ve earned a degree, had several careers and can’t stop planning for my future, which I hope will continue on for a long time. But sitting in my house on our second month of social isolation, predictions of how long this will last, and questions of whether or not the world will survive COVID-19 and the near-global shutdown taking place, it all seems more than a little familiar.

As humans, we love to think about the Apocalypse, in many different forms. Just turn on Netflix and scroll. In less than a minute, you will find any number of post-Apocalyptic shows. The truth is, it’s comforting when times are difficult, to just relax, stop planning, and think about a world where none of this is your problem anymore. Across the globe right now, folks are struggling with the same things: how do you make future plans, or even find the motivation to get out of bed, when you have no idea what the world is going to look like in the future.

The bad news is, there is no easy button. This situation is changing the world, and we will never live in a world that hasn’t gone through a global pandemic again. There is no going back to ‘before the Coronavirus’, and nobody honest can predict what the world will look like when this calms down, much less tell us when that will happen.

So, what can we do about it? How to we continue to run our lives, businesses and families? Here are a few tips:

1. Make Future Plans (even if they might not work out)

It’s hard—I get it. I had a plan for August that was going to change a lot of things for my family, my business and my world—now I don’t even know if we’ll be able to leave the house. But it’s crucial to have plans of some sort—even if they are the nebulous ‘when this is all over plan’. It’s human nature to look forward to the future, and when that doesn’t happen, we naturally begin to feel hopeless, or like nothing we do matters. It’s the reason that deployed soldiers have countdown calendars where they mark off 365 days till their return home. It’s the reason that phrases like, “when this is all over” are popular in common vernacular the world over these days. Of course, things might not turn out like you plan, but the only difference right now is that we all get that. We always live in a world where circumstances can change uncontrollably and outside of our control—planning your way through it is crucial to maintaining sanity and motivation.

This doesn’t have to be all serious, have fun with it. Have times in the evenings when you chat with your spouse about the dream vacation you’ll take when this is over. Let your kids plan a dream party with all the friends they are missing right now—whatever you choose, have something to look forward to.

2. Don’t Stay Siloed

One of the key ingredients in a cult, or any kind of extremist thinking, is isolation. Humans have an extremely strong, psychological drive to fit in with the larger group around them. In many ways, globalization has helped to advance many formerly isolated society, and has helped most of interact with things and ideas outside of our world view. Isolation is a danger to humans, and while we are currently isolating for protection, let’s remember that it’s a physical isolation due to illness, and not take the term ‘social isolation’ too literally.

Take the opportunity that many of us have of having extra time on our hands and focus on building your community. Have virtual happy hours or coffee dates with acquaintances you don’t know too well. Read books recommended by people that you know are on the opposite side of the political spectrum. Watch TV shows from other countries, or where the title characters are from a different race or gender than you. Travel with your mind and keep socializing broadly.

3. Take a Break from the News and Absorb some Positive Content

Literally everything on the news is pandemic related right now, making it even more difficult than usual to find positive content. At the same time, we are all scared and unsure, making it natural to gravitate to our screens, reading and watching everything that is coming out. Taking some planned media black out days can help us appreciate the good things and think of non-emergency related topics for a while.

Choose a day to not open any news articles, stay off Twitter and keep the news powered off. Hang out outside with your kids, spouse or pets. Watch stand up comedy or feel good rom-coms. Read a murder mystery novel or whatever your version of complete escapism is, but make sure it has a happy ending—one where order is restored in the world. Of course, you’ll turn the news back on eventually, don’t want to be too isolated, but taking a break can be refreshing.

4. Don’t Let Uncertainty Prevent You from Taking Action

No matter how shut down the world becomes, there will always be little actions that you can take towards your future plan, or that gives you a sense of purpose right now. One thing that all ‘motivation’ plans have in common is there is a future involved—something to work towards, things that build on each other day in and day out. Don’t be someone that looks back on this time and thinks of all the things you could have gotten started if only you had.

5. Don’t Become Accidentally Invested in the End of the World

This either sounds silly or obvious, but often times, when things are really rough, the way they are right now for just about everyone, it can be more than a little tempting to just release into a ‘we’re all gonna die’ mindset—even if it’s a much milder version of that. I find myself falling into the trap of thinking, “this is gonna last years, what’s the point in doing X?” The point, though, is sanity, for all of us. There’s a reason that folks who struggle with depression often describe it as ‘numbness’—and numbness can be comforting. Just remember that pain exists for a purpose, to help us know when something is wrong and respond accordingly. Numbness, in many forms, can help us to cope, but constant numbness is a danger no matter who you are. Get into it too far and you find yourself, like cult leaders everywhere, almost looking forward to the end of the world—or disappointed when it doesn't occur and you have to get back to the reality and struggles of ‘normal’ life.

If you find yourself falling into a trap of fatalism, do some things that remind you how great it is to be alive. Missing restaurants, set up a restaurant in your backyard and serve dinner outside (older kids can even play along as waiters). Make lists of milestones for your children (or yourself) and post it where everyone can see it. Save money in a special account for fantastic things you’ll do when this Apocalypse too shall pass.

Above all, give yourself, your family and your coworkers time and space to freak out, acknowledge your fear, and appreciate the things that are still working in our lives.

DANIELLA YOUNG IS A TEDX SPEAKER, AN AUTHOR, COMBAT VETERAN, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE-HACKER, HOST OF THE CULTURE-HACKING PODCAST, BOARD MEMBER OF OPERATION CODE, & THE CO-FOUNDER OF CAVNESSHR—AN HR-TECH COMPANY WHO’S MISSION IS TO MAKE BIG-BUSINESS HR AVAILABLE TO SMALL BUSINESSES, AND HELP YOU RECOVER HOURS IN YOUR WORKDAY. DANIELLA SPECIALIZES IN HELPING BUSINESSES CREATE CULTURE ROADMAPS, LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLANS & EFFECT TEAM TRANSFORMATION. WANT TO LEARN MORE? VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT cavnesshr.com.

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