Shifting Seasons

Such interesting times we’re living in right now. Depending on your experience, your views, your mindset, you could substitute the word “interesting” for so many other words — I feel like I’ve heard them all this year/month/week: crazy, frustrating, chaotic, frightening, changing, exciting. The bottom line: things will never be the same as they were before March 2020.

The last time we experienced a deep and profound change in the world was 9/11. It happened suddenly, like an earthquake, and then things adjusted and changed forever. 19 years later, you almost can’t remember a time when you didn’t take your shoes off at the airport, or when loved ones could greet you or send you off at the gate (yes, that was a thing). Our current experience with Covid is different, because it continues to evolve and change…and change…It is very unsettling for those who like to know what to expect, and yet, there is no foreseeable finish line to this crisis, and we’re left wondering what a new normal might look like. Or at least, a “next normal” (like, will I need to hoard toilet paper again? And why didn’t I buy more Clorox wipes when I saw them, let alone invest in their stock in the spring?)

And the Covid pandemic is just one of the things Americans are dealing with, with a very divided election season and an awakening of police brutality and racial discrimination awareness finally being brought into the light. Let’s face it: it’s been a very stressful 2020.

Fatigue is settling in for me, and for most everyone I know. Back in February, I remember joking about washing hands to the tune of “Happy Birthday” with a client. We weren’t thinking about designer face masks, social distancing, or zoom calls. The problem was always somewhere else…until suddenly in mid-March it wasn’t.

Every one of us has had to make adjustments, large and small. I’m fortunate I don’t have young children, because the stress of trying to work while trying to keep my children focused and learning online would be so difficult. I’m fortunate I don’t work in an industry that is considered “essential,” so early in the pandemic when so little was known about the virus and its transmission, I wasn’t constantly worried about endangering myself or my family. I’m fortunate that I’m not caring for aging relatives, worried for their safety and for their loneliness and fear.

I’m struck by the link to the seasons and where we are today. It was a chaotic spring, a long summer, and now it’s autumn — in nature, autumn is a time of harvesting what’s grown, disposing of what’s dead, and getting ready for the cocooning of winter. As a consultant, I’ve tried to stay in touch with colleagues, friends, and clients over the last several months, both to see what they are doing to pivot their in-person work and to check on their well-being.

In the spring we were all uncertain but hopeful that this would be short-lived, especially for my colleagues and the nature of our work traveling and working with clients face to face in meetings and events. Many of us welcomed the chance to take a pause from the frantic pace of life. I organized photos and wrote my father’s life story. The constraints of what we weren’t safely able to do narrowed the choices to manageable lists of things we could do. I was impressed with colleagues who immediately jumped into action on how to create meetings online, learning new collaborative tools like Mural and the intricacies of Zoom. I had huge compassion for teachers, who were forced into this world without any preparation or support. But they had no choice — people like my sister, who teaches robotics to a range of grades — who worked 7 days a week, sometimes 12 hour days. And of course, if the students didn’t have the supplies needed to do their assignments, they couldn’t run out to Michaels to buy them, because they were closed. Improvising became the name of the game.

In the summer, the realities of a lengthy decline in work set in. While I’m a true believer in lifelong learning and embracing change, as my parents had always been, I found myself resisting wanting to learn new ways of doing things, of working with people. As an extrovert who loves to work with people — like actual people, not little thumbnails of them on a screen — the whole distance online experience sounded horrible to me. I had already finished designing all the materials for several training courses, and then I had to redesign all of them for online delivery if I wanted to work at all. The good news was, I did it, and it worked fine. Not great — people skills require actual human interaction, but we were all doing what we could with what we had.

And now, autumn has brought both fatigue and deep reflection, which is what nature teaches us the season is about. I have friends and colleagues who are re-thinking what they want to be doing for their careers. We hear stories about empty office buildings in big cities and people migrating to more suburban living because they don’t need to go to an office. Reports are out that people are buying houseplants, painting the inside of their houses, and generally making their living spaces more functional and beautiful because of the amount of time they’re spending there. I find that people are reflecting more on what matters, rather than continuing the pace they had pre-pandemic. I think these are all positive things.

There are a lot of things that cause me to lie awake at night: when will it be safe for companies to meet in person again? What is the future of the speaking industry? And yet, despite the chaos and uncertainty that lies ahead, some good things are coming out of this unprecedented time (like, the fact that I now can spell that word in my sleep).

I would invite you to think about:

· What changes have you made, or seen others make, that have created a more balanced life?

· What are the things that cause uncertainty or even fear for you? And of those, what can you actually control? (because that’s really where you need to focus)

· How are you taking care of yourself and your own well-being, so that you can be there for others?

For me, I’m trying to think about this time of year as a chance to reflect on what I want in my life and what is not serving me anymore. I want to remember and celebrate what I’ve accomplished, and look ahead to what I want to have in my future. It gives me joy and hope, steering me away from despair and fear. I wish the same for you. Stay safe and stay in touch.