“A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes” — Mahatma Gandhi.
The Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) came with unexpected consequences. One of these consequences is information overload. In this context, unfortunately, fatalistic news, apocalyptic predictions, or conspiracy theories are the most read and the most shared and receive the maximum number of "likes" on social media. The result: negative thinking spreads faster than the COVID-19 virus.
I refuse to succumb to fatalism and negativism. That's why I've launched this “Positive Thinking” series to inspire you to be positive, think positive, and act positive. To learn more, I invite you to read the series of short articles on #Covid19 Positive Thinking (below).
Before you go, read and apply the basic advice of the World Health Organisation (WHO) about #COVID19:
Be READY for Coronavirus.
Be SAFE from Coronavirus Infection.
Be SMART and inform yourself about it.
Be KIND and support one another.
Confronting COVID-19 with Positive Minds
COVID-19 Positive Thinking series
My colleagues have written the short articles in this series at Oxfam International as part of the COVID-19 Positive Thinking I launched on 1 April 2020 to inspire colleagues to think positively. I thank them for their contribution. I invite you to take a 15-minute break to read the preview of the articles while sipping a cup of coffee or tea. To read the full PDF versions, please click on the links at the end of each article.
Advertising signs at an airport.
Be more open to the world.
By Abdoul Aziz Faye | 2 April 2020
“To be open to the world is to understand differences in points of view”
I saw this sentence in an airport over 10 years ago on an advertisement panel board. I analysed images around me for a very long time, reflected on them a lot and without noticing it, I realized that this sentence has changed my perception of things and helped me a lot to understand, integrate the thoughts of others .
Viktor Forgacs | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Let’s talk more about positive things.
By Dedeou Yahiya | 3 April 2020
“If you want to create your own affirmations, make sure they are always in the present tense and do not contain negations.”
I have witnessed how people enjoyed sharing only negative things, again and again. Take for example COVID 19; I would say that we scare a lot people and we do it in a negative way. I have always said to my colleagues to see the positive side of things, and to keep hope even in difficult situations such as what we are experiencing today.
Tyler Anderson | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Life is a ball that keeps rolling with many faces.
By Ousmane Gueye | 4 April 2020
“Change is not merely necessary to life - it is life. And, therefore, to live is to adapt” ─ Alvin Toffler
Life is a ball that keeps rolling with many faces and different postures presented to us. We have the obligation to take advantage of it each time it presents a new face and a new posture. But the reality is that we are the ones who change life, we are the ones who give it these new faces, these new postures.
Lukas Blazek | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Let’s give a meaning to our time on earth.
By Malick Ndome | 7 April 2020
“It is only when we become conscious of our part in life, however modest, that we shall be happy. Only then will we be able to live in peace and die in peace.” — Antoine de Saint Exupéry
Every human being, regardless of his/her social status, level of education and professional position, should aim to give a meaning to the time he/she spends on earth. This is even more important for me because life is built on the basis of several small things which all have an added value.
Jon Tyson | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
We always have the choice in life.
By Assalama Sidi | 8 April 2020
“ There is only one way to survive and thrive when faced with circumstances out of our control and for which we are unprepared: ADAPT.” ― Charles F Glassman
Two weeks ago I went home with my head full of negative and scary information that I received from various sources (internal, external, email, WhatsApp, etc.) and all day long. I told myself that I had two options: (1) to let myself down and plunge into negativity, or (2) to do something that to forget about the negative information and refresh my brain so that to be better mother, a better wife and a better leader that so many people rely on.
Olav Ahrens Røtne | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
How to stretch ourselves to fight COVID-19?
By Ferran Puig Abos | 9 April 2020
“ There’s no merit without crisis. It’s in the crisis where we can show the very best in us. Without a crisis, any wind becomes a tender touch” — Albert Einstein
Let’s not pretend that things will change if we keep doing the same things. A crisis can be a real blessing to any person, to any nation. For all crises bring progress. Creativity is born from anguish, just like the day is born form the dark night. It’s in crisis that inventiveness is born, as well as discoveries made and big strategies.
Markus Winkler | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
How Ebola Outbreak has changed my perspective?
By Billy Abimbilla | 10 April 2020
I come to the realisation that out of bad will emerge good and that I will survive again…
The whole world still remembers the 2014-2016 Ebola Outbreak in West Africa as if it happened only yesterday…. I still remember children running to hug me and hold my hand any time I went there in appreciation for the love shown them by supporting them. I knew I was gravely at risk of infection .
Chris Liu | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
The moving story of a COVID-19 survivor.
By Emerent K. Ouarou | 13 April 2020
Let us be strong and full of good humour to fight the spirit of evil in ourselves and around us.
Recently I watched a video post of an African woman living in Italy tested positive for Covid-19. Fortunately, she has recovered.
This video has particularly caught my attention because the message she shared is very comforting and create hope for humanity…
Tomas Sobek | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Do not go with the flow. Be the flow.
By Faly Sene | 14 April 2020
“Fret not where the road will take you. Instead concentrate on the first step.” — Elif Şafak
The situation of uncertainty created by COVID-19 forces us to let go and reminds us that we are not in control, the future is a mystery. However, the direction we take today and the thoughts we have will strongly influence that future, hence the importance of the first step that must be taken towards hope and expectation.
Fidel Fernando | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
How my childhood’s friend take back control of his life?
By Constant Tchona | 15 April 2020
If there’s one belief system worth adopting, it’s that your thoughts are at cause of the world you witness every day. Yep, change your thoughts and change your world!
Once upon a time, I had a friend dear to me. That is when we were in Junior Secondary School. My friend was born in a rural desolate community in Africa to a mom that was clinically depressed and to a dad he never knew as he passed soon after his birth. My friend was raised by his overstretched aunt, a single mom who had 7 little children of her own to raise.
Oxfam | Even-it up campaign
Will COVID-19 be the turning point to address extreme inequality?
By Tijani Ahmed Hamza | 16 April 2020
Something good can come from an unfortunate situation, and it wouldn’t be the first time
In Africa, governments are churning out social protection interventions and economic stimulus like never before. In Ghana, the government has now seen the need to identify and support lifeline consumers by providing them free water and electricity. Homeless people are now provided with temporal accommodation and food daily; in the end, these interventions will provide reliable data to better target their social protection interventions.
Juliana Amorim | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Let’s shine without counting.
By Omer Kabore | 17 April 2020
"When you're lonely, look at the moon and the sun. They're lonely too but they don’t stop shining".
The professional physical space where everyday we could always shake hands of a colleague then move on by saying "Namaste"; the space where everyday we could tease a colleague, laugh, eat together and support each other without formality; this friendly physical space has been taken over by a virtual space in which the feeling of professional loneliness is real.
Mayur Gala | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Let’s use love and solidarity to fight COVID-19
By Imma de Miguel | 22 April 2020
“Thanks God, love cannot be destroyed. It is stronger than all barbarism.” — Milena Jesenská
Jesenská’s quote bove underscores the power of love in the face of all. During this time when the world is going through one of major crises in the history of humanity, love is omnipresent between people, mutual aid and solidarity are put forward as the only viable solution for living together.
Luca Upper | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Happiness is a state of mind forged by our thoughts and emotions...
By Charlotte Masselot | 23 April 2020
“I decided to be happy because it's good for my health” — Voltaire
If modern world makes health a large economic market today, with powerful stakes and interests that are beyond all of us, happiness—and deciding to be happy, making it a life choice—will remain the best remedy, and above all the most affordable, against aches, worries and fear; and it frees energies to accept and embrace change.
Paul Skorupskas | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Time of crisis is also time of opportunities...
By Janet Olaolou | 24 April 2020
“A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Sir Winston Churchill.
April-June 2020 GDP contraction will likely be on a scale not seen for decades. But fiscal and monetary stimulus—over $10 trillion and counting—could aid an equally swift rebound. It is a classical Macroeconomic legacy analysis of V-shaped recovery and based on that same possible scenario comes my positive thinking.
Lindsey LaMont | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Eco-feminist revolution will be born from the chaos of COVID-19
By Claire Le Privé | 27 April 2020
“This crisis tells us that our system has shown its limits and that we can no longer tolerate it!” — Testimony of a journalist
At the beginning of the crisis, like most feminists, I was very worried about the increase in domestic violence. As I thought about all those women locked up with violent husbands, I was afraid for many of our rights acquired after long struggles will be weakened in the turmoil of COVID-19. Yet this crisis has exposed to the world the power of women…
Bluehouse Skis | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Every problem is an opportunity to change things
By Ismaël Boly | 28 April 2020
“I have learned that you can almost always see the good side of things, provided you make the decision to do so.” — Lucy Maud Montgomery
The Covid-19 pandemic has given the humanity the historic opportunity to change the course of the world, the need to fight against inequalities…
The Covid-19 challenge can be a stepping stone towards a better future for humanity! If we approach the crisis this way, then it is a bad for a good.
Matthew T Rader | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
God never shuts all the doors…
By Papa Sosthène Konaté | 29 April 2020
“[Human beings] only act in a state of necessity and usually only recognise necessity in a situation of crisis.” — Jean Monnet
In our communities, there is a saying that “God never shuts all the doors in difficult times”.
This means that disaster is never inevitable and that, in the face of a challenge, however hard it may look, there is always a happy and bright solution, provided the humankind shows inspiration and ingenuity.
Sangga Rima Roman Selia | Unsplash, Photos for everyone
Let's look beyond what our senses perceive...
By Khady Diouf | 01 May 2020
“In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer.” — Albert Camus
What is this incredible utopia of summer in the depth of winter? It's simply an ability to see beyond what our senses perceive. Far beyond the physical aggressions affecting our moods and weakening our motivation. Just keep in mind that whatever the problem, wherever we are and whatever the circumstances, we rule over our existence, our being, and our life.