As we move out of the lockdown phase, many will continue to face challenges and ultimately pay the economic price of Coronavirus through redundancies and business closures.
The luckier ones amongst us who may still have jobs or a business to hang on too, will feel grateful. However, it would be naive to believe that this set of individuals have no challenges of their own because let’s face it, so much of our landscape has changed since the Pandemic:
Inequality has grown
Education and the way that we work has changed
Domestic violence has increased
Mental Health issues have escalated
There is more hunger and homelessness
There is greater unemployment
Livelihoods have been decimated
We are a grief stricken nation for tens of thousands of loved ones who have died
Our national debt is at an all time high
There is fear that the virus will not go away
The list is endless and subsequently, as a nation, the loss is great. It will take years to recover. At an individual level, the loss of a routine, of a loved one, and/or of financial security has left deep scars with many feeling a lack of purpose.
But somehow, we must face our challenges and I believe the only way to do this, is together. We must rethink our purpose (pretty hard of course, for those who have lost their motivation totally!) but through collective effort we must become people resolute in addressing our issues.
There is no mistaking that the challenges we face are big but with bold solutions we can address them. It will require individuals and businesses alike to think creatively in order to bring fresh ideas to traditional methods and put us back on the road to success. As Albert Einstein said “We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”.
It will also require individuals and businesses to reflect - to review learnings of the Pandemic - and examine the issues at hand. For an individual this may mean reviewing their career path, up-skilling if necessary to future-proof their job and for a business, reviewing their existence and the problems that require addressing. For both, it will certainly include an assessment of what can be done versus what is beyond control and ultimately, it is up to all of us to create the change we want to see in the future.
Of course, for many, it is difficult to reimagine a new future when fighting for survival. But ALL of us must for the Sun to keep rising,…. For too many lives have been tragically taken; too many bright lights extinguished forever. It is therefore important their memories serve to fuel our determination to succeed and on our difficult journey, we ignite greater sparks of life in others, particularly in those, whose lives, have been dimmed through this Pandemic.