The Gifts of COVID
MichaelSunnarborg / March 21, 2023 Article, Image, Uncategorized / Leave a Comment
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a tremendous impact on every aspect of our lives.
The pandemic caused devastating effects for many people, businesses, supply chains, and the list goes on. And at the same time, the pandemic also acted like a great Etch-a-Sketch® and nearly erased every former routine, plan, and schedule for nearly three years.
So now that we’re emerging out the other side, what does this give us?
Opportunity—a time to refresh, reprioritize, and reboot. And the biggest benefit: we get to re-create a new normal.
In my world, I’m always looking for the upside of a situation, the win within the loss, and the “pro” within the problem. As a self-proclaimed Relentless Optimist, I would be remiss if I didn’t also point out the benefits the pandemic has created.
Without further ado, here is a partial list of the gifts of COVID. Feel free to add any of your own.
Those darn face masks. Yes, they helped reduce the spread of airborne germs, but they also keep your face warm, keep dust out of your lungs when house cleaning or dusting, and they’ve become a form of “wearable branding”.
Re-establish priorities. Since we were forced to stay home, we automatically spent more quality time with family and friends (i.e., our trusted circle). This time at home also gave us time to clean and organize, start new home projects, and focus on something new to read, watch, eat, or play.
Building resiliency. They say what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. Touché. If you’re reading this, you are a survivor of a near-death experience (seriously), and you’ve built more resiliency. You survived. The pandemic also made us more flexible to changes, gave us a higher tolerance for ambiguity and uncertainty, and forced us to rely on ourselves and each other for survival.
New spaces & places. Over time, malls and open public spaces, especially outside, became more attractive since we could actually “experience other people” (at a safe distance, of course), but that meant leaving our home cave. For many of us, cars became our new hideouts while the proliferation of home offices was born.
Technology! Need I say more? Thank goodness for Zoom calls, home deliveries of anything from pizzas to parakeets, Netflix nights, and the incredible flexibility that technology gives us. Our tech helped us stay connected to the world through daily updates, automatic downloads, virtual conferences, and learning to blend the virtual and “real life” to reap the benefits of both worlds.
These are just a few of the benefits, of course, but in any situation, there will always be things to be grateful for.
After all, life is what you make it. So why not make the best of it?
Positively speaking,
Michael Thomas Sunnarborg
Are you ready to deliberately re-create aspects of your life? Attend ReconnectYOU on May 20th at the Minneapolis Convention Center and we’ll show you how. Visit Reconnectyou.net for more information.
Image: Pexels.com