Photo by Daria Shevtsova from Pexels

In the last few months, we have all had some bad news to deal with. Personally, I feel lucky and grateful that I don’t have much to complain about. The six months gone by have been challenging for sure, but we have pulled through well with some days of physical and mental exhaustion to complain about.

There are people I know who haven’t been as lucky. A friend who lost her job at 45. A cousin who has to rework her career plans even before she has found much success in her line of work. An acquaintance who lost his father within a week of sickness. A relative who had to bear medical expenses beyond their capacity.

All of this is directly correlated to the COVID 19 pandemic across the world; an event which none of us have any control over.

This event has brought to fore the undeniable need to be better prepared.

As civilisation develops, as technology and innovation reach the next peak, events that affect individuals are seemingly getting more uncertain. The type of uncertainty which is out of your control. What you can control is your preparedness to deal with uncertainty.

This preparedness I speak about requires will power, requires good physical health and it requires prudent money management. A combination of these three things is what can bring you home when things go wrong.

Will power

Will power is your ability to remain positive rather than fearful in the face of adversity. The human mind is a powerful tool and it’s a tool that we all have access to. You can either misuse it and worry yourself till the end or you can put it to good use and ensure that your mind functions at its most positive capacity despite adversity.

Most of the time, it’s you who can control how your mind functions. Sometimes you can take the help of external tools to calm it down. Music often helps many people to remain calm and positive. There could be other ways like caring for a pet or playing with children or indulging in a selfless act or taking time out every day to pursue a hobby that makes you happy.

Now more than ever seek out ways to ensure that your will power is charged positively. It’s a depressing world out there with many living beings suffering and the planet seemingly dying. It can get overwhelming if you let it.

If you take control of your will power you can focus your energies in a more constructive way and continue to contribute in whatever capacity you can.

Physical health

Its another matter that medical costs are getting a lot more expensive every year. No matter which part of the globe you are in, inflationInflation is a common term thrown around in economics lessons and by politicians around election time. What it means in simple language is that prices of things you buy, stuff, keeps increasing every year. It happens because the economy in... More in medical costs is higher than other goods and services you end up using.

What is harder to deal with is the temptation to stray away from focus on your health thanks to all kinds of lifestyle changes that have come in. Technology has aided us in many ways but it also nudges us to become lazy and shy away from getting our skin to soak that gorgeous sunlight every day.

The food we consume relies more on supplements and chemicals than fresh, organic water, soil and sunlight. As these changes creep up they are bound to affect our health negatively.

It means we have to make an additional effort to ensure that we are physically fit which requires taking out 30-60 minutes everyday to work up a sweat and ensure our bodies don’t get complacent.

A fit and healthy body will not only save you a lot of money in medical costs, but also it helps to sharpen the mind and tackle the most trying situations with the best possible approach.

Prudent money management

This is going to be the hardest of the three things. It requires you to take the utility of money seriously even before you have encountered any hardship. Human beings act from experience and unless you experience something challenging you may not understand the value of money.

COVID 19 has shown us that challenges don’t announce their arrival. Unless you are prepared you will face hardships and sometimes it will push you to another extreme. All it requires is some proactive preparation. This preparation is not hard to do. You have to focus on these three things:

• In your early working years, save more than you spend.
• Resist the temptation to buy things you don’t really need.
• Choose your investments wisely and start early.

All this will help you have a financial cushion that can come handy in times of uncertainty. Having a good financial cushion will enable you to be stress-free and more confident about your life choices too. This in turn means you will be able to manage relationships with more indulgence rather than indulging on stuff that really doesn’t add value to your life.

The world is changing and we must acknowledge that change along with finding ways to live with it. Focus on what matters and what enhances your life experience rather than running away from hardship. Focus on your mind, your body and your money equally for a happy, healthy and prepared life.