Here’s One Weird Trick that Cures COVID-19

Doctors hate this.

Hey, thanks for clicking! You didn’t really have a choice though, did you? I mean who’s going to ignore a cure for a deadly disease? Plus, it’s a weird trick that doctors hate so you know it has to be good. Those rubber-glove wearing communists in the “medical community” can’t be trusted after all. So, pour yourself a cup of bleach and let’s get into it.

Why are doctors keeping so many secrets about this virus?

Well, there’s no answer to that question. And that’s because it’s not a real question. It’s a statement disguised as a question so I don’t have to justify it. Is the government poisoning the water and turning all the frogs gay? You tell me. I’m just asking questions, snowflake. I don’t know why the Deep State wants to keep us all sick and out of work but I assume it’s because they hate our freedom. Before all this corona nonsense, we were free to choose between Chili’s or Applebee’s and now they’re both closed. Coincidence? I think not.

Honestly, I think it’s sickening how many people have bought into this scamdemic. Last I checked, hearsay is not admissible evidence. But now we all have to stay inside because of nothing but hearsay from the “medical community.” How does that make any sense? If your neighbor came over and said their house was on fire, would you call the fire department right away or ask to see some pictures first? That’s right, you’d ask for a picture! And, even pictures can be deceiving so you’d probably have some follow-up questions too.

When you think about it, why should we trust doctors at all? First they say cigarettes are safe then, out of nowhere, they say they’re bad. Well, it can’t be both. So, were you lying then or are you lying now? And don’t give me that garbage about the tobacco industry suppressing negative research and paying for fake studies. Having a free market means the best solutions always win. We all know that. If you don’t like it, move to Venezuela, comrade.

Geez, I’m rambling, aren’t I? Sorry. Just had to get those things off my chest. You’re here because you want to know the weird trick that cures COVID-19. Well, here you go:

Doctors won’t tell you about this cure for COVID-19 but you can start using it today!

The cure for COVID-19 is called VUCA and it was developed by the U.S. Army in the late 1990s. Yes, you read that right. The 1990s. COVID-19. Connect the dots.

What is VUCA? How does it work? Well, it’s not as easy as shining a light inside your lungs but it’s incredibly effective.

VUCA is an acronym for describing a rapidly-changing world. Now I know what you’re thinking. I thought this would be some type of pill or fish tank cleaner that I could inject, not a stupid acronym. I understand. But hear me out. This is the part of the article that turns the corner on the satirical nonsense that came before and actually provides some useful information.

VUCA stands for: Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous. It was developed as a framework for understanding the Post-Cold War world and, for obvious reasons, became even more relevant after 9/11. Today it’s used everywhere from situation rooms to boardrooms.

So how does an acronym save us from a deadly virus? Well, it can’t kill an infection — not directly at least — but it can facilitate the most effective societal response to one. VUCA is a framework for reflecting on rapidly-changing landscapes. Each of the challenges expressed by VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) has its own unique antidote, and that’s known as VUCA Prime (Vision, Understanding, Collaboration, and Agility). These antidotes can be highly-effective if we take the time to carefully state our problems. Unfortunately, our modern world hasn’t done the best job of stating problems correctly. We still think that a kid holding a bake sale to pay for his cancer treatments is a feel-good story about entrepreneurship rather than a catastrophic failure of our healthcare system. Well, in any event, there’s no better time than the present to try a better path. So, let’s walk through how this all works.

Volatility is cured with Vision.

We have all been riding a rollercoaster of rapidly changing news and guidance. At first we were told that wearing masks was not necessary unless you were sick. Now they are advisable for everyone. We were told effective medications were on the way but now that’s not so clear. Although there are many reasons to remain hopeful, we understandably have some cognitive whiplash from a barrage of conflicting accounts. This is the very definition of volatility and strong leadership can make a tremendous difference right now. In fact, we’re all starving for it whether we know it or not. In times like this, strong leadership is not about ruling with an iron fist, ridiculing opponents, or expressing unqualified optimism but rather providing a compelling vision for how we move forward. In other words, we need leaders who understand the transformative power of stories. It’s why many of us are getting lost in movies and TV shows right now. If we can’t consciously imagine the world we want next, then we are destined to unconsciously build something else — and we probably won’t like it whatever it is.

Uncertainty is cured with Understanding.

We don’t need television ads telling us that we live in uncertain times. We can feel that in our bones. What we do need, however, is a way of addressing that uncertainty in ways that actually matter. When medical students are learning how to talk to patients, they often struggle with the guilt that comes from not being able to provide definitive answers. They see patients struggling with uncertainty and they confuse building understanding with providing certainty. Nothing is certain. Ever. A diagnosis may change after a new test. A therapy that worked at first may stop working. In the face of that uncertainty, patients need understanding. They need doctors who will go on the journey with them and won’t let them slip through the cracks.

Right now, this is the type of medicine that we need more than ever. And not just from doctors but from everyone around us. We are dealing with unprecedented amounts of fear and anxiety. We are faced with not just the existential threat of a deadly disease but also record unemployment, domestic abuse, depression, and various other forms of uncertainty. Nobody can provide us certainty through any of this but we can work with each other to build the understanding we need right now. All we have to do is ask the right questions. Try it. Ask someone you love right now, “What’s your biggest stress and what can I do to help?” Next, try your neighbor. Then, try an enemy.

Complexity is cured with Collaboration.

It’s an understatement to say our current situation is complex. It’s complex from a personal perspective, from a virological perspective, from a societal perspective… and, well, you get the point. Absent any external pressures, our social lives tend to gravitate into silos. It’s a natural tendency but it’s by no means inevitable. Now, we are faced with a situation where networks of people who never talked to each other before need to not only communicate but also collaborate. Unfortunately, building diversity is a skill that many of us have spent little time developing. Diversity, not just of people but also of thought, requires vigilance against parochial thinking and proactive inclusion of outside voices. Left to our own devices, we stick with people who think like us, act like us, worry about the same things as us, so forth and so on. This was always a dangerous way of living but in our current situation we see how it can sometimes be a matter of a life or death.

Ambiguity is cured with Agility.

Clearly, we are not ready to commit to a single course of action in addressing this disease. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Of course, every day that passes without a clear plan has us all feeling the full weight of that ambiguity. It can feel like purgatory or like we’re just wasting our time and any decision would be better than none at all. This is where I can understand the quarantine protesters. I don’t agree with them in the least but I do understand what’s happening with some of them. In a world where we’re still waiting for basic testing and tracing and hospitals can’t get the equipment they need, how confident are you that we have an agile government? In an ambiguous world, we have no choice but to be agile. However, agility requires leaders who can not only explain its value but also demonstrate it with meaningful actions. If and when a particular course of action stops working, we have to be confident that we can collectively pivot to something else, something better.

And that’s VUCA in a nutshell, folks. What do you think? It is a pretty weird trick, isn’t it? I’m not sure if doctors actually hate it as the subtitle suggests but I’m sure I could pay a few of them to say that they do. So, next time you find yourself struggling with any aspect of this dystopian nightmare, ask yourself where do my frustrations or anxieties fit into this framework. Let me know in the comments if it helps.

By the way, all of this will also work for Murder Hornets.