We humans are amazingly adaptable and flexible. Do you remember when you first heard of the COVID-19 virus? In early January, 2020, at a symposium entitled The Epidemiology of Compassion and Love, we were with global health professionals from around the world, only a couple of miles away from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There was no way to know how much the world was about to be changed by the COVID-19 virus.
The disruptions have been enormous, and the loss of life has been tragic. Yet, as a collective, we have still found ways to adapt with remarkable resilience. Many colleagues tell us that some of their life and work changes have been unexpectedly positive. Have you received any gifts from the adversity wrought by this pandemic? If we stop and reframe our experience, how can we learn and grow?
We can do more than we ever thought possible.
Imagine coming out of a strategic planning session in 2019 with the goal of moving to fully remote work within six to eight weeks. The consensus response would have been, “No way that can be done.” And yet, most office-based organizations made that happen in record time.
Innovation and agility arise more from intention and commitment than from sheer genius. Organizations that have a “can do” attitude, can do! Compassionate leaders who are affirming and focused on their goals will get there. Execution challenges can be used all too easily as excuses to avoid change. A provocative illustration of this as it relates to accessibility for the disabled comes from this popular tweet by Sasha Costanza-Chock, an MIT based scholar and designer working to support community-led processes that build shared power:
When it comes to changes necessary to meet the compassionate needs of the world, there is no need to accept “We can’t do that.” We can reverse climate change. We can dismantle systemic racism and the global impacts of colonialism. And as leaders, we can create work environments of belonging where each individual is honored for their unique gifts.
Take nothing for granted.
There are a lot of things we’ve missed during the pandemic. As you gain access to them again, be grateful that you have them back. Don’t take them for granted. What will you be most grateful to return to? What have you missed most? Whatever it is, you now know that its availability is not a given. If you choose to receive them this way, every hug, every handshake, every in-person “good morning” can be received as the gift of human connection that they are. Often we need to lose something to understand how much we appreciate it.
As a compassionate leader, start with the intention to be grateful for the return of every joy that was lost during the pandemic, but don’t stop there. Every breath of every day is a gift. Can you expand your circle of gratitude to include the gift of every single moment?
Let go once and for all of what is no longer needed.
At the same time that we become more intentional in gratitude for the things that we are getting back, we can also ask what we haven’t missed at all. What about those things you thought you could never do without? There might be some that you don’t miss at all. What unproductive patterns in your life that have been disrupted can you eliminate? These might be patterns of consumption that you now realize don’t bring any joy into your life.
What about time and energy spent separating work and home life? Are you ready to take off your office “armor?” Zooming while pets and kids show up for meetings has helped many of us realize that being an integrated human being is the deeper truth of who we are. And we are all better for that.
When the world opens back up, if we haven’t addressed the underlying motivations for “unnecessary patterns and actions,” it will be easy to return to old routines. Pause. Reflect. Take this opportunity to be curious about the reasons why you made these choices long ago. Be courageous as you reexamine what can be improved.
In closing…
It will take enormous patience to reassemble our lives in ways that are compassionate and responsive to this moment in human history. Here is where we can assert leadership in our own lives as well as the lives of those we influence.
Remember there is still much grief, suffering, and struggle in the wake of our collective trauma. It is also a time of renewal and growth as we welcome a new cycle for humanity. Let’s commit to the long, hard work of healing humanity and the earth with kindness and compassion.