It’s no secret that COVID-19 has turned almost everything upside down. These past few months have been tough on everyone. For most, including us, we’ve learned some life lessons and have re-evaluated our priorities.
We wanted to share some of those life lessons we’ve learned and will continue to learn as we navigate through the on-going pandemic.
1. Prioritizing Relationships with Family and Friends
Too often in life, we get so caught up in the day-to-day that we forget to cherish those who matter most. We’ve learned that we need to take more time to tell family and friends what they mean to us and how much we appreciate them. Life is short, so taking one moment a day to reach out is so important.
Also, remember that it’s never too late to reconnect. If there is someone you have past issues with that you wish you were closer to, know that it’s not weak to reach out. Forgive and put any hindering issues in the past - it could be exactly what you need.
2. The Importance of Your Health
If you woke up today healthy, consider yourself lucky and be thankful for that. We’re still in the middle of a pandemic where there are those who are elderly or immunocompromised, and this situation can be very frightening for them. Be thankful for your good health.
One major thing that we realized, is that it’s time to make health a main priority. This is a great time to redefine your version of fitness and health. Work on building a healthy lifestyle, you can do this through:
- Light exercise.
- Drinking more water.
- Healthy eating habits.
- Unplug and disconnect from your phone or tablet more often.
3. Have an Emergency Fund
The COVID-19 pandemic is a perfect example to show the importance of saving in case of an emergency. For our commercial clients, we always stress how vital having a disaster recovery plan in place is. If you’re unsure of what this is, contact your Arnold Insurance executive, they’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you have!
4. The Importance of Supporting Your Community
We can’t stress enough how important it is to support local businesses and community members. We’ve always considered ourselves to be an organization that is more than insurance, this was a good reminder.
When the pandemic first started, we came together as a team to see how we could support our local communities better. Here are a few of the things our team members started doing:
- Grocery shopped for those who couldn’t leave their homes.
- Picked up prescriptions.
- Called our clients to see if we could provide any additional support for their business or family.
- Ordered take out to support local restaurants and bars.
- Shopped our favorite businesses online.
- Started “Gifts of Hope” a program run by our staff. They donated money from their own paychecks to help those in the community that had been affected. Our leadership team loved the idea and initiative so much that they matched the donations.
And, we’re still doing these things to continue the support!
5. In a World that’s Always On the Go, We Need to Slow Down
We’re constantly on the go and under this pressure to be productive almost all hours of the day. Some of us may feel like we can’t take any breaks, which simply isn’t true. At the end of the day, we’re all only human and we need to remember that. We’ve decided to slow down a little and live one day at a time, because that’s all we can do. Let’s all pay attention to the great progress we’ve made amid a tough year!
To Sum It Up
We’ve learned a lot and will continue to learn and grow. We’ve reflected and taken some time to prioritize these few things. We’ll carry these lessons moving forward and continue to be better as an organization because of this situation.
To our Arnold Insurance family, please know if you need anything, we’re just a phone call away!
Insurance Executive, Doug Robert, picking up groceries for one of our longtime clients in Scott City, MO.
Insurance Executive, Marcus Harris, showing support for Feral, a local outdoor store in Denver, CO. He ordered some swag online to rep the brand!
CEO, Marc Harris, stopping by one of his favorite local restaurants, Honey Baked Ham!
Insurance Executive, Alex Austin, supporting local restaurant, Bayou Bay & Grill in Pocahontas, MO.
Our AIC power couple, Jenna and Ryan, supporting Fresh Healthy Cafe Saint Francis in Cape Girardeau, MO!
Gifts of Hope: A program started by our employees to donate money from their own paychecks to help support those in need. Overall, team AIC raised $29,000!