It has been a while since I last posted, and I was thinking about the lessons I have learned through this pandemic. I think most people would say they have learned 1 or 2 lessons from the pandemic. I read a quote the other day that said, "nothing worse than wasting a crisis." I don't want to waste this crisis I have experienced, nor do I want to repeat it, although I believe this will happen again in my lifetime (I am 55). Here are the two lessons I have learned.
1) Slowing down is good. I didn't know I needed it, but there was a time during this pandemic that I had nothing extra to do. No extra early morning meetings, no late evening meetings, no weekend gatherings. At first, it sucked, but as it went on, I embraced it took a deep breath and thought, "When was the last time expectations were off the table and doing nothing was ok?"
2) Patience was something I needed to grow. I consider myself a pretty patient fellow, but this pandemic revealed I had areas that needed to work. As frustration mounted everything, a new regulation hit and I was required to do something or not do something. I could feel the tension rising. This, in turn, seem to cause me to become upset a little faster at the people around me. They seem to take longer to park a car or check out at the grocery store. I couldn't read people's expressions, and I didn't know if they were upset with me or not. Was that person behind the counter having a good day? I couldn't tell, and this just added to the frustration and the lack of patience. Once I identified this, I then set to work on relaxing, giving people space and time. As well, to recognize we are all in the same boat.
So do I want to repeat this pandemic? Hell no! but I also don't want to waste the opportunity to learn, change and grow from it.
What have you learned!
1) Slowing down is good. I didn't know I needed it, but there was a time during this pandemic that I had nothing extra to do. No extra early morning meetings, no late evening meetings, no weekend gatherings. At first, it sucked, but as it went on, I embraced it took a deep breath and thought, "When was the last time expectations were off the table and doing nothing was ok?"
2) Patience was something I needed to grow. I consider myself a pretty patient fellow, but this pandemic revealed I had areas that needed to work. As frustration mounted everything, a new regulation hit and I was required to do something or not do something. I could feel the tension rising. This, in turn, seem to cause me to become upset a little faster at the people around me. They seem to take longer to park a car or check out at the grocery store. I couldn't read people's expressions, and I didn't know if they were upset with me or not. Was that person behind the counter having a good day? I couldn't tell, and this just added to the frustration and the lack of patience. Once I identified this, I then set to work on relaxing, giving people space and time. As well, to recognize we are all in the same boat.
So do I want to repeat this pandemic? Hell no! but I also don't want to waste the opportunity to learn, change and grow from it.
What have you learned!
