None of us will forget 2020.
We have and continue to live with COVID-19.
It’s required us to change and adapt. It’s presented challenges.
On Saturday evening a press conference told us that England will go into lockdown once again from Thursday.
In some respects it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Cases have been rising. Deaths have increased.
Of course knowing something is coming and it actually being announced is very different.
When announced it becomes real.
Everyone has their views, opinions and perspective on the situation which is completely normal.
In the current challenging times perspective matters more than ever in my view.
How we look at things has a major bearing on how we feel.
If you are out of work right now, finding that next job might seem impossible.
If you are in a job you are probably working harder than ever and wish things would slow down.
If you are a leader or manager there are difficult choices to be made.
Individually we may have to comply with restrictions that we don’t necessarily agree with.
It would be easy to give up or throw in the towel.
Yet in reality that’s probably not an option for most of us.
We have to deal with the here and now.
We have to try and keep a sense of perspective. To stand back and look at the bigger picture.
Is it easy?
Of course not. At the same time it will help us to keep moving forward.
We can always try something. If we try and it doesn’t work out there will be learning. We can use that learning to try something else.
For example:
If looking for a new job and the traditional approach of working with a recruiter is not producing results, try a different strategy.
If you are run ragged at work, take an hour to determine what those that you support really need and let go of some of the less important stuff.
If you are a leader or manager make those difficult choices even if it’s hard.
Individually accept that there are things that you might be being asked to do that you might not fully support but provide benefits to others.
I’m not suggesting any of this is easy. At the same time I do feel that perspective really does matter more than ever right now.
So ask yourself, what can you do to keep a sense of perspective and navigate your way through these challenging times?