Millions of people are lying low to limit the spread of COVID-19. Self-isolation and social distancing, they say, will help curb the crisis. Next problem: how do you cope with being cooped up for days on end? How do we use this time wisely?

Consider the three biggest reasons why people don’t experience growth in their life – they are too busy, too proud or too comfortable. We’re falling short of our potential. Could government-enforced self-isolation be an unexpected solution?

Thanks to COVID-19 we have time on our hands. The endless issues and daily demands of functional life suck up all our valuable hours. Now we’re forced into somewhat of a lockdown – a situation that facilitates reflection, planning, questioning and the crafting of a more conscious direction in life. We’d never free up that time ourselves, so here it is handed to us on a plate.

Thanks to COVID-19 our weaknesses have been exposed. The stress, insecurity and uncertainty makes us realise we’re not as flawless as we thought. The selfishness in pursuance of self-preservation is astonishing! There’s some inner engineering that needs to go on. Life is filled with many mini-tests, each of which help us to build our strength, resolve and character. Some resistance is required to build our inner muscles.

Thanks to COVID-19 we’ve ignited some urgency. The last two weeks are a wake-up call to not take things for granted. Complacency is our middle name. We never thought the situation could become so acute, so quickly. Thank you for blowing our misconceptions and reminding us that time is precious and life is volatile. Harsh realities help reinstate clarity and perspective into every aspect of our life.

Apprehensive about self-isolation? Don’t be. Create a vision, make a plan, build a schedule, and use this time ingeniously. It may never come again. We’ll look back at this strange time and realise how valuable it was.

Find opportunities in problems.