The Crisis as an Opportunity

Dear Reader,

We’re almost exactly halfway into the year 2020! I don’t want to be that annoying person, but… how are your New Year’s resolutions coming along? If you did make resolutions this year, this is a reminder to check in on your goals.

I annually make resolutions and try to stick to them; however, this year has been particularly challenging (cough, cough, PANDEMIC). With the pandemic-related madness, it can be easy to discard any sort of endeavor that does not guarantee instant gratification, but do you really want to do that? With six months left in the calendar year, focusing on one’s areas of improvement is a great way to regain control over this otherwise lawless situation.

One of my vague resolutions this year was “to be more social” (unfortunately, carrying on a one-way conversation with you lovelies is not enough). To help achieve this goal, starting in January and February, I began to join more organizations and participate in local events. I was seriously making good progress on my goal, which included attending a bunch of yoga classes on the weekends as well as signing up for an intro to the outdoors course, until the pandemic struck. Boom! And, just like that, my email inbox was inundated with subject lines reading “CANCELLED.” So, yeah, I basically defenestrated this goal, holed myself up in my apartment, and basked in a near hermitic state of solitude (it was for a good cause). However, now that I am doing some self-reflection, I am once again trying to push myself to be more social if only online.

Even if you have not chosen to make resolutions this year, it can be a good idea to take a few moments of introspection to consider what you have learned about your yourself this year and attempt to find better and brighter personal paths forward. If anything, at least 2020 was a learning experience. We learned about the fragility of humans and how a tiny germ from the other side of the world could virtually bring society to a near standstill. We learned that businesses, large and small, just like people, are vulnerable and cannot survive if left to on their own for periods of time that are really not all that long. We also learned that some of the most important jobs in society are regularly overlooked and underpaid. Finally, we learned about the instrumental role that we the people play in the containment and proliferation of a violently contagious disease.

With this backdrop of events and lessons, it can be really easy to throw your hands up in the air and declare, “I’m done!” However, the world continues to turn and the clock continues to tick. As we are still living, we should do our best to live well. So, I will rephrase my question from the top of this post: how will you take control of the remaining six months of the year? Will you use your time to focus on personal growth? Will you contribute meaningfully to society? Or, will you just make rest and relaxation more of a priority? Whatever you choose to do, I hope you do it deliberately and never let the days mindlessly pass you by.

In the words of Niccolo Machiavelli: “Never waste the opportunity offered by a good crisis.”

Love,

Raven