How the Pandemic Has Changed Us — An Experience Of ‘Mindset Shifts’
We have been missing some human connection during the pandemic. With many things shifting online (think Work Meetings, Prayer Meetings, Birthday celebrations and even some weddings), we have been craving for the face to face connections.
Like many others, I have also created a bubble of friends who I meet now and then and we catch up on the goings on. Needless to say, for most part, the chat is around the pandemic and the constraints we are living with — how work from home is working or not working, how our support systems are now dwindled, how we have been trying old and new hobbies et al.
Through a string of these conversations with several friends, I noticed some patterns.
Everyone has had time to reflect. And many have been reflecting on their life priorities — to say what is it that they ‘really’ want and what are the things they are able to do without. Multiple people I have spoken to have shared that they have a new perspective of career and ambition. Let me give you some background first. In India, weather you are the upwardly mobile, the ambitious, the ‘have it all’, or underprivileged, one thing runs like a common thread — hard work. Now that would generally be regarded with high respect, but more often than not we in India forget about downtime, even when we can really afford to. ‘Struggle’ becomes a respectable trait. Catapulted by cultural nuances, strained infrastructure and our desire to do better (mostly financially), we continue to struggle.
Not any more. The pandemic triggered a different life for all of us. The biggest being work from home. Work from home for Indians was a challenging but quiet time. After the initial anxieties and chatter inside our heads, we also had time to reflect. And the reflections have been so many and yet similar.
Many people I know are now looking at life as a ‘whole’ — as different from being primarily ‘work’. For several, that means maybe not taking that next ‘large job’, or ‘promotion’ in order to spend time with family or personal pursuits. And they are happy making these choices.
Before you jump and label these people either way — as ‘brave’ for making these choices or a sheer ‘waste of talent’, just bring your attention to the fact that it is just a little new to so many Indians who have for years imbibed the value of ‘getting ahead’ as against ‘getting along’. For them, ‘getting ahead’ (mostly at work) has been the purported end outcome and it keeps them going. It has given people a purpose so far.
But now they are making space for things other than being competitive. They are perhaps rethinking and settling down with new ideas of success. With years of conditioning towards narrow definitions of success, this is definitely not easy. Its what businesses and HR folks like yours truly call ‘mindset shifts’. And mindset shifts are such a delight to observe because they always bring with them fresh air which always leads to everyone breathing slightly easier.
And no, easy is not bad. The most challenging things when handled with complete attention in every moment are easy and fulfilling. And things handled with ease and with attention lead to growth. And Growth is neither a bad substitute for ‘success’ nor a bad outcome of the mindset shift.