Living in Fear is NOT Living

I’m frustrated. As a business owner, mother, and active member of this community, I’m frustrated. I look around and see my friends and colleagues struggling to keep their businesses afloat while navigating changes in their personal lives due to cancellations, rescheduling, restructuring, etc…and for what? Are we really in so much danger that it constitutes pressing an indefinite pause on life as we know it? Think about the hundreds of businesses locally that will have to close their doors permanently…and the ripple effect that comes with that. What about all the families dealing with financial insecurities who will lose their homes as a result? Or all the children who are being deprived of activities that are essential to their personal and social development?

Then you look at the toll this is taking on people mentally—all-time highs of anxiety, depression, and, ultimately, suicide—is this what we are signing up for? If so, is it possible that we’re killing more people than we’re saving?

In a KFF Tracking Poll (www.kff.org) conducted in mid-July, 53% of adults in the United States reported that their mental health has been negatively impacted due to worry and stress over the coronavirus. This is significantly higher than the 32% reported in March. What’s more alarming than the stats among of adults is seeing how deeply our children and young adults are being negatively impacted. Suicide rates are already higher among adolescents (10th leading cause of deaths overall in the U.S.; second leading cause of deaths for ages 12–17). I can only imagine what the numbers will look like in the months to come if our outlook and response as a community do not change.

This isn’t meant to deny or discredit the severity of the virus—it’s real and has taken lives. I’m not saying it isn’t something to take seriously or that it isn’t heartbreaking to see family and friends lose loved ones. The point is that, no matter how scary sickness and death are, living in fear is NOT living. I feel like I can’t look anywhere without being reminded of COVID, the number of cases, or the death toll. It’s consuming the media and, therefore, our minds. This fear mongering isn’t healthy. What if every time you got in your car you were alerted of how many people had been in a car accident—not died, just got in an accident—within the last day/week/month? You might think that’d make you drive safer, but the psychology behind it would actually tell you that the fear/anxiety of crashing would hinder your ability to make necessary quick decisions on the road…making it less safe. Once again, living in fear is not living.
I’m all for taking precautions when and where necessary but when those precautions start to become more crippling than what they were put in place to protect against, that is where we should all draw a line. We have to look at the bigger picture. We have to live our lives.

Instead of “stay home and stay safe”, it should be “do everything possible to support our local business community in a safe way!” This could be buying a gift card to use at a later time, ordering take out, thanking employees when you go through the check-out line, sharing a positive business review on social media, and, most importantly, BUY LOCAL NOT ONLINE! Jeff Bezos doesn’t need more money, the mom-and-pop shop down the street does. There are plenty of safe ways to still get the products/services you need without ordering it from a large, out-of-the-market online retailer.

On another note, this month marks Strictly Business’s 14th year in Omaha! Even in the midst of a pandemic, I remain blown away by how strong this community remains. I see growth happening all around me and resilient leaders who are doing amazing work to make Omaha the very best place to live and work. I’m honored to be a part of it. Of course, I couldn’t do it without all the amazing local businesses that have partnered with our publication and trusted us with their advertising ventures. Also, our wonderful readership—thank you for picking up Strictly Business, reading it, and deciding to do business with our clients. I’m grateful for all the connections my staff and I have had the pleasure of making here in the Omaha area. We look forward to more exciting things to come in the year ahead!

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Email: Paige@StrictlyBusinessOmaha.com