Work matters in the time of COVID-19
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How are you doing? After nearly 4 months of COVID-19 hovering over our lives, how has your world changed? Have you had some thoughts about your life?
As nearly every workplace has been affected by the virus threat, has it given you a pause to consider what you want?
At first, I was keenly aware of how so much of the busyness in my life stopped.
It was a weird sensation. As if I was going at warp speed (I’ve been watching old episodes of Star Trek), and then there was suddenly no place to go.
While it took me a while to wrap my head around a global pandemic and settle down to new daily routines, I have been considering how this is connected to doing work that matters. In the midst of this, is there perhaps a hidden possibility?
Are we moving slow enough to finally, finally consider what it is that want to contribute to the world?
In the midst of this uncertainty, are we reminded that uncertainty is always not far away? And that if we keep pushing our hopes and dreams into the future, will we really have that future?
Are we getting enough rest to see how staying in jobs that are wearing out our souls has a high price?
What I have heard over the weeks has been lots of we-don’t-know. We don’t know the nature of the virus, how many lives it will take, when the curve will flatten, and how we are going to get this all running again. That is a lot of not knowing.
Not knowing is scary business. What if… we get sick? can we really get the help we need? what about the economy?
Not knowing is sometimes okay with a big dash of overwhelm. Our nervous systems are on high alert. Are you experiencing times of fatigue or agitation? These are signs of a revved up system.
Not knowing is unsettling. What else is around the corner? Will life ever be like it was before?
Certainty and uncertainty - the complexity of being a human
We want certainty. It helps soothe our busy, anxious selves. We need it – to a certain degree. We also need a nudge of uncertainty. They are both a key part of this life. But we have been playing the certainty hand for a long time, and we need a reminder that life has this big other component. There is so much we don’t know. Scientists who studied for many years talk about what they know is very small compared to what we don’t know.
Can we befriend uncertainty?
If we can develop some relationship with the unknowing, that will help keep us on track. And it will help us go to places beyond our own limitations of our lives.
I hope the pandemic gives us space to look more deeply at our lives. I hope it gives us breathing space to move in a new direction, especially if the old direction was holding us back and keeping us focussed on what doesn’t really matter in the long run. And maybe we are making some connections with our being unhappy with our work and how it touches every other part of our lives.
Here’s the trouble. It isn’t very easy to change course once we are in motion. The pandemic offers us some hope. What we have shown over the last few months is that we can stop the maddening pace. We’ve done it. And could we possibly do it without a pandemic? Yes. And. Sometimes it takes something big to wake us up. To help us look at our lives with a new lens.
The response I got pre-COVID-19 was – it is overwhelming to even know where to begin when we consider what work will get us excited to get up in the morning.
The answer is in how we do anything big. Don’t expect to do it all at once. Buildings get erected one floor at a time. Trains get to their destination one kilometre at a time. It is all about breaking it down into steps.
There are some caveats that will help in the process:
This does not mean that you have to hand in your resignation tomorrow. First of all, you need to get clear and then make a plan. And that plan may mean staying right where you are (with adjustments).
Anything this big and this important needs to have a fun component. That helps with motivation and not abandoning ship too soon.
Can you be open to new ideas or where ideas may come to you? That will help you see things you just can’t see right now.
What to do next
Ready for the step by step process?
Step 1:
What are your gifts and talents? There are hints along the way – what makes you say yes!!
Step 2:
Get others on board. Tell them your gifts and talents and then ask them if they have any ideas for you. Write them down. Later, look over them and find what leaps out at you.
Step 3:
Brainstorm a list of job possibilities. If you find it yourself getting stymied, look at the job postings or an Internet search on your strengths and career possibilities. Here’s some ideas if you like working with people.
Step 4:
Talk to people doing various occupations that you have selected. Try several so that you get a broad view of possibilities. Find out what the work entails. Afterwards, do some stocktaking on what you learned through the process and how these occupations fit and did not fit for you.
Step 5:
Make a plan. Do you need education? Do you need to connect with people in the field? Do you need a conversation with your boss?
Does that sound simple? Here’s the wild card. With important matters like this, the answer may not be where you might expect. It may not come in the time frame you want. What I know is that if you turn your attention in that direction, the answer will come. Even if it has eluded you for a long while.
Often those answers happen when we are still. Are you ready for the lurking of the corona virus and the resulting isolation to allow you to deepen some ideas you have about your life?
Can you turn away for a short while from fear and worry, be quiet and consider what it is that you truly want?
If you liked this blog posting you may also like:
The Secret to Getting the Work of Your Dreams
Great Advice About Work from Albert Einstein