Dr. Albert Ellis, the creator of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT), taught that all courses of action have their advantages and disadvantages. He explained that when we have an attitude such as “This bad thing must not exist,” we are likely to jump to “because it does exist, it is awful.” He instead advocated holding a scientific attitude towards adversity, such as, “I certainly do not want this bad thing to exist, but sadly it does. Therefore, it is very bad but not awful as it always could be worse, it should exist because it does, it can be transcended. It is not completely bad; it is self-helping to search for the good within the bad of any adversity.”
While the COVID-19 crisis is not “awful,” as nuclear war would be far worse, it is genuinely bad. Around the world, people are losing the ability to breathe, and many, sadly, then lose their lives. Our elders, perhaps our most beloved, are particularly vulnerable. Everyone is rightfully concerned and many downright anxious or despairing.
It may not be natural or instinctual during these times, but it would be helpful for us to look for the good within the bad of the COVID-19 pandemic. It won’t bring back to life anyone who has died, and it won’t make a job loss suddenly reappear. Still, a search for the good within the bad could help rearrange our values and how we spend our time and energy going forward, making for better-lived lives in the future. This stance of searching for the good within the bad could help us carry on despite the significant loss we may have suffered. It may be helpful to reflect on the words of Friedrich Nietzsche, who wrote, “What does not kill me makes me stronger.”
Here is a tentative list of the good that could come from the bad of the COVID-19 pandemic:
1. There can be something useful in the timeout imposed on our busy lives. It can bring into focus what truly matters, having come to see how vulnerable the lives of our loved ones, and ours are.
2. There can be good in having extra time to spend with your children or partner and reconnect with them both.
3. There may be an opportunity to get more sleep as your workload may diminish during this pandemic.
4. There can be good if a more widespread appreciation occurs among people of the world that the earth and its ecosystem, which we live in, regardless of how large, is a shared ecosystem. Viruses on one side of the world will sooner or later find themselves in all corners of the globe and a threat to all of us. Pollution over there matters to us over here. Such appreciation could motivate us to share the earth in a better way and work together to keep it habitable for all of us.
5. There can be good in people of all nations coming to see themselves as “citizens of the world” rather than citizens of a particular country, thereby fostering cooperation between nations.
6. There would be tremendous good if, as a result of the pandemic, more people came to see war between humans as a fool’s errand regardless of the outcome when all humans are in a battle against disease, the aging process, and ignorance.
7. Good can result as scientific understanding of viruses shows rapid growth producing unintended positive knowledge for perhaps cancer and other human ills.
8. Good can result as telemedicine rapidly evolves, and people in remote and underserved parts of the world gain access to medical and psychological care that was previously unavailable to them. Then having local government not needlessly and in a self-serving way deny distance therapies from continuing to be delivered after the pandemic has ended.
9. Good can result as hand hygiene will be practiced more widely by those who fail to do so now, hopefully, make it a lifelong habit effective in preventing future diseases.
10. Good can will follow in the wake of the pandemic as new industries providing new jobs and services emerge which assist us in facing the next emerging threat.
11. Good can result if a greater appreciation of the importance of teamwork develops between all people and results in a lasting impression that we are social beings who impact and rely on each other.
12. Good will come about as we all get better at coping with uncertainty and learning to focus on what we can control and accept what we cannot control.
13. Most importantly, good will occur as we all learn to grow stronger and get better at bearing what is hard to bear, thus preparing us for future crises and challenges which will inevitably occur to all of us.
I suggest you add to this list. Doing so may help you think in a way that could make a meaningful difference in how you live your life and conduct your affairs after the pandemic has run its course. As Pema Chodron said, “Since death is certain, but the time of death is uncertain, what is the most important thing?” This pandemic can help us gain awareness of what is most important to us so that we spend more time doing what matters and have fewer regrets when our final hour arrives.