Re-imagining your reality in the post Corona Virus world.
Every Cloud has a silver lining and now is the time to transform your life and innovate your business for a “Post” Corona Virus world. Those that doing this are well on their way to become the new industry leaders. Being able to move forward despite the challenges is a sign of resilience, problem-solving, and creativity, which are the hallmarks of being a successful entrepreneur.
Whilst some of us are feeding on the doom-and-gloom surprisingly, there are many operators that are getting on with the business of creating a post-COVID transformation.
The world has changed fundamentally and I believe 2020 will be remembered as “BC” (“Before Corona Virus”) and “PC” (“Post-Corona Virus”) periods. Like the events of 9/11, this pandemic has given us a new “lens” to view the world through. I can see us in the future asking each other: “what were you doing BC” or “what have you been doing PC?”
On a personal level, this pandemic has made us re-evaluate the greater meaning of our lives, and success will no longer be defined under the same terms as BC.
The lockdown has become a great opportunity for fresh thinking and a “re-evaluation” of our core values and definition of “success”. It has also redirected our priorities towards more meaningful interactions with our loved ones or following our passions and dreams.
As a business coach, many of my clients and colleagues I have spoken to, are quietly forging ahead and innovating their businesses to overcome the challenges they are facing. Many have done this by leveraging the opportunities created with the rapidly accelerating digital transformation that is currently occurring globally.
For businesses that have been able to innovate, they are now preparing to “pounce” in the PC world. The case in point are the local restaurants that were doing takeaways and deliveries under the lockdown. Now, with the latest easing of restrictions in Victoria, (where two different groups of people are now able to meet, for example at parks), some of these restaurants have been quickly pivot to deliver gourmet food picnic hampers. As the good weather arrives in Melbourne, and people flock outside, this could bring a little ray of sunshine for these struggling businesses.
For some, this pandemic has caused a lot of hardship, whilst for others, it has given us a taste, (albeit a short one), of a “utopian” model, (in Australia at least), of what life could be like if we all slowed down and if we were all paid a universal basic income (with the generous government handouts). It has provided many of us with an opportunity to not only spend more time with our families but also given us the time and opportunity to develop personally by acquiring new skills or following passions, which we previously never had the time for.
However, for those of us who have been lucky enough to experience this “utopian bubble”, it will soon burst leaving us to face up to the new economic reality of looming hardships. Let’s hope it’s a soft-landing for us all.
Whilst we have the opportunity under lockdown, we should take this time to transform our lives not only for the PC world but make it “future COVID-proof”, should there be another pandemic in the future. Just whittling away our time on the couch, watching Netflix, binging on food and alcohol, and waiting for all this to end to return to “life-as-usual” is a wasted opportunity because there never will be such a scenario ever again. The world has changed forever!
We will discover that some things that were important in the BC world will simply no longer be relevant in the PC world, and if you haven’t re-invented yourself, then you will have missed a unique opportunity to develop resilience.
Lockdown has also given us an opportunity to learn to just “be”, and explore our own headspace and learn to love our own company and to learn to “let go” and go with the “flow”, because as we have seen with anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne recently, resistance is futile. All it does is heighten our anxieties, or worse, exacerbate personal disorders or induce mental illnesses such as depression, paranoia, and psychosis.
So, then what is the PC world going to look like? Well, your guess is as good as mine, however, there are “macro” shifts occurring, but on a personal level, this pandemic has given us an opportunity to reflect on the new reality we really want for ourselves and our loved ones, hopefully, one that is filled with love, purpose, and passion and then build it.
On the “macro” level, some of these shifts include the transition from globalisation to localisation, creating many opportunities for manufacturing and supply chains. (The government has already made some funding announcements on this). There will be a shift towards more self-reliance, things like growing our own vegetables and home cooking, as well as a move towards repairing things and making do with what we have. There will also be a more frugal approach to consumerism, with a more “need”-based approach to purchasing instead of continually following the latest fads, as we’ve come to realise there are a lot of material things we can do without. Experiences will be more localised, (in the short-term), as we rebuild our trust in international travel again.
Our domestic realities will be more sheltered and isolated, as we keep building our sanctuaries, castles, and fortresses. As recently experienced, there will be a boom in homewares, whitegoods, entertainment systems, and also the Internet of Things (IoT), with the hope of making our lives easier and safer. However, this may be short-lived as the “bubble” bursts.
Under this lockdown, some of us have adjusted well, whilst others have engaged in a Dystopian view, but we have to remember that: “it is not what happens to us in life, but how we react to it that makes the difference”. As we’ve experienced, “stuff” happens, but our mental frames, combined with our intrinsic resilience will determine if we can get through this pandemic mentally unscathed or not.
For businesses, now is the time to innovate, and those that haven’t will most likely find themselves irrelevant in the PC world. Surprisingly, there are some that are thriving and there are some even admitting it’s been a fantastic year of opportunity and character development for them, given the catastrophe.
The pandemic has given us an opportunity to think about the reality we really want, and the need to work towards creating a society we really want for ourselves, one based on the things that REALLY matter, beyond the mediocrity that has subdued us. Now is the time to break those bonds, rip those chains that have been holding us back and prepare to pounce for the coming New World.
So, what sort of life do you really want for yourself in the PC? Will it be back to normal for you? Where does your happiness lie and has it changed over the last six months? I would love to hear your feedback on this.
Tobi Nagy- Educator and Founder of the BCF Coaching Academy.