The pandemic can be a catalyst for reinvention
Reinventing oneself is not easy, but it can breathe new life into a tired existence
People have time during the pandemic, and they start thinking and examining their priorities.
These priorities transcend their work life. They ponder their partnerships, place of living, style of living, work, career and so forth. Reflection on our lives from time to time, though disturbing, is helpful and brings us closer to our true selves. The pandemic has significantly altered many lives and catastrophically so for some. None of it is our own making and consequently, it helps us to move away from feelings of guilt, and focus on change without remorse, think of roads untravelled and journeys unmade. Even if, after all the deliberation, we decide to stay put, the self-examination brings us clarity. It is like a veil lifting; it is not as if we did not see before; we just see clearer.
My recommendation to people is to actively engage in such reflection even if it is unnerving a bit. I suggest talking about it at first, easily and without any seriousness of tone or intent, with partners, family, friends, shooting the breeze as it were. Once we have some ideas in our head, it is time to take a critical look at those thoughts and separate those that were just dreamy and made us feel good and those that hinted at possibilities toward a better future. Spend a little time examining each of those changes that we had contemplated in terms of the challenges and opportunities, the risks, and the returns, both psychic and existential.
We still have time. The pandemic is not over yet! Then, get back to our near and dear ones, our sounding boards, and present our plan for change. Encourage probing and tough questions, those that make us uncomfortable, and answer them, if not to them, at least to ourselves.
At the end of the day, the impetus to change comes from the opportunities available, our own abilities-real and potential-to embrace those opportunities, and our motivation to do so. Motivation, ability, and opportunity — We must have all three!
Many years ago when I was in engineering school, I was impressed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers slogan, “the difficult we do now; the impossible takes a little longer.” Reinventing oneself is not easy. But it can also be exciting and can breathe new life into a tired existence. Age can be an impediment, but it does not have to be, at least not always. It is a question of how we leverage our age into our reinvention. I tell people that everything is possible … although the probabilities change. It is a mindset. As a student of business, I want people to make a sensible riskreturn assessment. But then I also want them to wrap the assessment in hope and move. There are no right or wrong answers here. Reinvention is not just during the pandemic. It will certainly rollover into the future. The pandemic is the catalyst for such thoughts of reinvention. Any change calls for boldness and if it is worth it, I say go for it. It is part of the risk-return assessment. We only live once!
Where should one look? My general advice is to look at where growth is — both horizontal and vertical — and where sustainability is and see our own location in it. It varies! It can be in the service sector, in manufacturing or in some form of entrepreneurial activity including in the informal sector or the gig economy. In the past, it would have been determined by where we were, locally, regionally, provincially, nationally. But now, we have realized the power and potential of remote work. Interestingly, while the pandemic had erected physical barriers, it has simultaneously brought down bureaucratic barriers to work and has opened national borders widely — you can be in one country and work in another country altogether. Organizations have started recruiting globally.
Following our dreams and pursuing our passion is necessary but not sufficient for a sustainable lifestyle. Purpose and fit matter as well. And hard work. We must realistically examine our own fit with our dreams and passions, how good we are with them and what larger purpose they serve. In other words, which community supports our dreams and passions and why, and what do we have to do to earn that support. Even if we only have vague answers, it is a start.