Trying to write my next series on empowerment without mentioning the COVID-19 “Coronavirus” outbreak seems downright silly. Those who might read this blog in 2022 or 2024 may not remember exactly how intensely the world reacted to the virus. However, those of us living through the effects of it right now have never experienced such a dramatic shift in every day life because the world has not had a declared pandemic for over a century.

Many people have compared this crisis to the horrible events of 9/11 when an unexpected tragedy hit our nation and changed things immediately. While we never saw the destruction on 9/11 coming, people outside of New York City and Washington resumed their “new normal” much faster than those in the areas where the planes hit. COVID-19 is a fair comparison to 9/11 in that we’re never going to go back to the life we had before the outbreak. Like the attack on 9/11, the COVID-19 virus has changed things forever.

But that’s OK. You see, there’s one thing people who are not very political tend to notice when the partisans are off fighting — change always wins. I could list 101 issues ranging from gay marriage to the explosion of casino licenses, and there would be strong opinions on each side of every issue. In the long run, however, change wins. Even those who strongly believe in a strict Constitution can’t deny that change — for good or bad — is an unstoppable force.

Odds are, you strongly agree with some change, strongly disagree with others, and the rest of your opinions fall somewhere in the middle. That’s to be expected. We see change every two years when we cast some people out of government and vote others in. For everybody who is thrilled their candidate won, there are slightly fewer people who are distraught their candidate loss. I’ve seen both Republicans and Democrats claim they were leaving the country to live somewhere else when their choice for President lost, and I can’t think of a single time those people actually moved.

Yes, the thought of change is scary. Why? Because it’s the unknown. Right now, we’re dealing with a big bucket of unknown. Charts showing the rise in unemployment rates or claims for unemployment insurance look ludicrous. Pictures of downtown New York City appear like they come from a movie with 99% of the usual life and energy missing. Schools across the country are calling off classes until next autumn. Who would have thought we would have seen any of this as a response to COVID-19? I was like many who thought the first days of the panicked response were overblown. I was wrong. Boy, I wish I would have been right.

The only thing we know about the current unknown is that it will eventually get better. People will stop getting the virus, and those with it will improve. We’ll see the other side of the curve. But what’s on that other side? It’s not the way life was. It’s the way life will be: unknown.

Thankfully, we’re adaptive animals, and that’s what I’m going to talk more about: how to succeed amid the unknown. For now, empower yourself with the following points and know your future will be bright.

1. The scared fear for what tomorrow brings.

2. The adaptive know things change.

3. The observant see opportunities in change and adapt to them.

Empower yourself with a positive mindset and know I will share more how-tos in the coming weeks.