In 2005, Dr. Phil McGraw, the well-known television host/author/psychologist, published a formula with 10 life strategies as a formula for success.

“Life is not a success-only journey,” he said. “Even the best-laid plans sometimes must be altered and changed. Be open to input and consider any potentially viable alternative. Be willing to be wrong and be willing to start over.”

That’s sound advice during these virus-driven times. One of the big questions facing elected leaders in Washington and in the individual states is when and how to reopen the economy so people can get back to work.

In an interview last week, Dr. Phil said the coronavirus is altering our way of life.

“I am not an infectious disease expert. I am not a microbiologist. I look at this from a human behavior psychological standpoint,” he said. Dr. Phil said that people should follow the orders of governors who are making decisions on how to reopen the states, but said living in isolation can be more destructive and actually cause more deaths across time than the actual virus itself. Loneliness can increase the risk of stroke, coronary artery disease and dementia.

A major debate concerns how leaders, especially on the state level, deal with individual rights protected by the constitution, including the right to assemble peacefully and practice your religion.

Whether it’s hiking through our national parks or simply visiting a relative across town, individual rights have been altered. Here are some reported overreaches:

• In Brighton, Colorado, a father was handcuffed in front of his family for playing T-ball with his daughter in an empty park;

• Three Massachusetts men were arrested in Rhode Island for crossing state lines to golf;

• In Greenville, Mississippi, Baptist church members were each given $500 tickets by local authorities for sitting in their cars in the church parking lot listening to a sermon from their pastor on the radio.

• In California, surfers are banned from going in the water.

Many in Michigan feel that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer leads the pack when it comes to a governor overreach. Some even charge that Whitmer, mentioned as a possible running mate for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, has turned Michigan into a police state.

Under her orders, residents can’t use motorboats or even travel between residences if they have a second home outside the city.

Stores are banned from selling carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden supplies, paint, fruit or vegetable plants and seeds, but the sale of liquor, lottery tickets and marijuana continue.

Whitmer’s order stopped elective surgeries but not abortions, which the governor claims are part of maintaining “life-sustaining” health care.

Thousands rallied against her orders last week at the capitol in East Lansing, and some have filed lawsuits. Sheriffs of four Michigan counties claim Whitmer’s order exceeded her executive authority, and her mandates only confuse residents. As a result, they will enforce them on an “individual” basis while promising to continue to serve and protect the people.

“Each of us took an oath to uphold and defend the Michigan Constitution, as well as the U.S. Constitution, and to ensure that your God-given rights are not violated, the sheriffs stated in their letter.

There have been times in our past - such as the Civil War - when the emergency powers of those in leadership clashed with individual rights. But the present pandemic has us in uncharted waters as courts will be asked to determine cases that weigh the constitutional rights of individuals against the authority and possible gross overreaches by governors and mayors.

By Jim Zbick | tneditor@tnonline.com