Contributor Yvonne Rodney considers what has shifted in her own life and reflects on the impact of the pandemic on our values, motivations, attitudes, and priorities.
Linda Duxbury – demographer, professor, and change-management expert – purports that it is not so much the time one was born that affects the world view of each generation. “Rather, people are defined by the ‘watershed’ events and conditions that they were exposed to as they grew up” (see slide 26), and these are the influences that shape our attitudes and underlie our motivations. The COVID-19 pandemic was one such watershed event.
In a previous article, as part of The Philanthropist Journal’s Future of Work series, I have written about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on how we view work, where we work, and for how many hours. By now, most organizations have in place some type of model that provides workers with greater options as to how and where the work gets done. Others have significantly changed how they work by instituting compressed workweeks or flattening organizational structures. This article is an attempt to look inward to what has shifted in your life and mine and invites a reflective evaluation of the impact of the pandemic on our values, motivations, attitudes, and priorities.
If there has been a shift, how is that playing out in your personal life choices, decisions, and work attitude?
When faced with the real possibility of our imminent demise, we tend to wake up to some things that need changing in our lives. We pledge to live more mindfully, eat healthier, spend more time with family, laugh harder, give more, et cetera. Yet when or if the threat is removed, we often find ourselves sliding back into business as usual. But, if we get scared enough, which is not always a bad thing, we can make ourselves do some revolutionary re-prioritizing or adopt a quiet but resolved re-entrenchment into what always held value, determined more than ever to stay the course of what we deem important.
So . . . where have you personally landed post-pandemic? What if anything has shifted for you? And if there has been a shift, how is that playing out in your personal life choices, decisions, and work attitude?
In a session at the Cannexus career development conference in January, more than 35 participants were asked to reflect on their journey through the COVID-19 pandemic. These questions were posed: “Was there a moment during the pandemic when you made a decision about life and how you would navigate it? Did you experience a constant state of anxiety? A taking back of control, or what? And now that you are on this side of the pandemic, what are you doing differently in your approach to life?”
In a session at the Cannexus career development conference, more than 35 participants were asked to reflect on their journey through the COVID-19 pandemic.
And as I write this, I am asking myself, What does it matter? The pandemic is over. Why revisit this topic?
The answer lies in the taking notice. If we do not pause to reflect, we often miss important things. When we acknowledge that stuff happened, and that what happened affected us, and when we can even identify how that event contributes to how we live, love, move, and think, then we are able to bring this awareness into the intentionality of our choices.
My “watershed” decision post-pandemic is to live. Now. Not to postpone joy to a future date over which I have no or little control. Rich or poor, healthy or ailing, I am making myself look for reasons in life to be thankful. I now notice the person at the grocery checkout and tell them to have a nice day. I give up my right to be right all the time. I am teaching myself to enjoy the taste of food on my palate and the joyful giggle of my grandchild. I am trying hard to stay away from worrying about things I cannot change, to spend time with people who keep me grounded, and to say many more words of appreciation.
My ‘watershed’ decision post-pandemic is to live. Now. Not to postpone joy to a future date over which I have no or little control.
Workshop participants shared stories of their own journeys through the pandemic and where they have landed: acceptance of myself and others just the way they are, life–work balance versus work–life balance, greater confidence, increased mindfulness, focusing on me first so I can have more to give to others, no more business as usual.
One person misses the flexibility and easy access to online learning that she took advantage of during the pandemic. One commented on the excellent social media skills he developed; another shared how she made a decision she would not have made pre-pandemic to take off from work and do a trip in the woods with her son who was having a hard time. It was the best thing for all of them, she reports, holding tears at bay.
We heard of deciding to return to family, joining a community, spending time in nature to help heal the self, discovering different ways to work, understanding and accepting the need to control, even breaking some rules when it is for the good of those we love.
And one person admitted to the remnant of a low-lying anxiety that’s still there. How brave! The pandemic left many of us with residual trauma aftereffects. Owning that is part of the journey, too.
As we wrapped up the session, participants expressed gratitude for having had this time and space at the conference to reflect and process. It was a quiet procession that left the room. Not negative. Not heavy. Mostly resolute, though. Not a bad place to land.
So I challenge you to do what was asked of the participants. Write a brief statement about where you are post-pandemic and what you want to do, or are currently doing, differently, more intentionally with your life. See where that takes you.
