10 Ways to Value Others During Covid19

My passion is to help organizations build cultures where people are valued. Valued for who they are as a person, as an individual.

But many of us are not at work. In fact, I'm writing this from my home office. But we can still value people. Below are 10 ways we can show our care for others, both people who are close such as family, friends and neighbors, and complete strangers who will never know your name and never be able to say thank you. After all, we're not doing these things for recognition or a thanks -- we're doing these things because we care. And we want to make the world just a little bit better.

Let's start with the #1 way to value others during this time:    

            Stop the name-calling, bickering and rudeness on social media!

I was scrolling through Twitter yesterday and its unbelievable some of the comments I came across. Now before I go on, let me say this. Please, please, please hear me out! I'm going to lose some of you with these next few paragraphs but please stick with me, even if you disagree with my worldview.

Numerous tweets accused President Trump of murder. There were lots of comments expressing hope that Donald Trump would die due to the virus. Someone else said to keep President Trump away from Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders but have him associate with the "evil SOBs in his administration." And all of Trumps supporters were broadly labeled as stupid, fascists, racists, and other less-than-complementary terms.

Look, while I rarely agreed with President Obama, I never wished ill on him. And I don't know his character or his heart so I can't talk about the deep-inside motivations that drove his decisions. And the people around him and his supporters? I didn't want anything bad to happen to them, I didn't believe they were evil, and I never called them names.

It's no secret that our country is divided and we'll never heal or come together when we keep calling the other side names, often that start with an f-bomb.

But especially now, when so many people need our help, can't we put the politics aside, come together, and support one another, including the many government leaders who are doing their best to bring an end to this pandemic?
If you want, you can get back to name calling when this is all over (although I hope we can start having civil discussions about our differences).

Still with me? I hope so! Let's look at nine other ways to value people during this challenging time:

2. Stay home: Show your family, your co-workers, and most of all, our frontline medical workers that we care by staying home and healthy. The more we stay home, the more likely we'll avoid this nasty virus. We'll be healthy for our families and we won't add another patient to an already over-crowded, over-stressed healthcare system.

3. Sit In The Front Yard: Or on your balcony. Just because we're home doesn't mean we have to hide. My wife and I have taken to sitting on the front porch, waving to people as they stroll by or walk their dogs, saying hi and offering an encouraging word. And last night, we met two neighbors we didn't know!

If you must go out, add these small gestures to your To Do list:

4. Write a Note: It's easy to write a check-in email and send it to friends and neighbors. But how about making that extra effort by jotting down a short "thinking of you and hope you are well" note, sneaking outside when no one is around, and slipping it into a mailbox or taping it to the front door? What a great surprise to see an encouragement from a friend!

5. Take Only One Roll: Just because the sign says you can take two packs of toilet paper or two containers of disinfectant wipes doesn't mean you have to. Remember, the person behind you -- and the person who can't get to the store until the end of the day -- is just as stressed about toilet paper and hand sanitizer as you. So take one package now and come back later in the week for more.

6. Deliver cookies to ICU: We've all seen and heard the stories about our overworked and tired healthcare workers, particularly those brave men and women caring for the very sick in ICU. How about buying or baking some cookies or other tasty goodies and delivering them to your local hospital's ICU? And if you're too concerned about getting around sick people, drop the goodies off at the reception desk or simply have them delivered. And don't forget about our police and fire departments -- they're working hard, too, and would appreciate a tasty treat.

7. Treat the person behind you: As you drive through Starbucks, McDonalds, or any other food stop, after you pay for your order, treat the person behind you. Can you imagine their surprise when they don't have to pay? Then just give a friendly wave in the rearview mirror, pick up your food, and go about your business.

8. Leave an extra big tip: Many restaurant workers are out of work. Fortunately, many restaurants are still open, serving their menus as take-out. As you pick up your order, ask if the restaurant is still supporting the furloughed staff through tip sharing. If the answer is yes and you have the means, go above and beyond your normal tip and value your out-of-work server. And when we're able to return to restaurants, keep that extra tip going for a while so your server can catch up on rent and bills.

9. Donate food: On that food run to the grocery store, pick up a few extra cans of this or boxes of that and then make a quick run to the local food bank. The need for food and personal care products goes up dramatically during challenging times like this so help out those less fortunate than you by keeping the food banks stocked.

10. Donate blood: I know, this is a little bit extra effort and it's even a little scary. But the need for blood is still there. Help someone by donating not just food but life itself!

If we all pitch in and do some of these, it will be easier to make it through this pandemic. This is one of those times when we're all in it together. And who knows, maybe we'll keep doing these things after the quarantine is lifted! How awesome would that be!

                                                          What Value Others ideas do you have?

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