The world has changed many times, and we are witnessing another major change. We are going through a historic transition — everything we knew about life and making a living is now questionable.
The world we live in now is undeniably different from the one we knew before the pandemic. Humanity is rethinking what it means to live — we’re questioning everything.
“The outbreak has affected so many parts of life, for so many people, that it stand as a pivotal point in history that fundamentally alters the way we live,” writes Mike Bebernes, Editor of Yahoo News 360.
Billions of people are still reflecting on the reality they believed to be the only truth and the “new normal” they are witnessing.
The pandemic has made two thing painfully clear — at least for people who are ready for a reset: life is short, nothing is guaranteed — no matter what they told us and no single mindset is the only reality.
People are going through a personal crisis — uncertainties about careers, relationships and what it means to lead a successful life still very much on their minds. Nothing makes sense anymore.
‘In developed countries, our “little lives” are built on assumptions that the world is a fairly secure, predictable place and that society will scaffold us if we need help,’ says clinical psychologist Dr Hamira Riaz.
The pandemic has challenged the foundations of our belief systems.
We’ve been forced to confront the reality that a single career path is the best way to find a stable job, or a single income stream is sufficient for financial stability.
Businesses that were against remote work are rethinking what it means to be productive and what can be achieved outside the office.
Many of them are radically changing almost everything they do: how teams work and how work is delivered.
Businesses that rely on people coming together in large numbers are finding news to keep their businesses running.
Self-care (taking care of your mental heath, immune system, and emotion well-being) is now more important than ever even as you plan to build a viable career.
How to make sure you survive and thrive
“The illiterate of the 21st century are not those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn,” says Alvin Toffler, a writer, futurist, and businessman
Skills, behaviours and tasks that once made one successful may not apply in this new world of work.
Thriving in the new normal means making time to confront difficult life questions and training your brain to adapt a new mindset about it means to live a fulfilling life.
The good news is, you still have a chance for a fresh start. You can redefine how you view the world and live your life.
You don’t have to make drastic changes — quit your job or radically change your life routines. You can’t change one thing and expect everything to be fixed.
‘At this point in time I would suggest not making any rash decisions, making a note of what you want to change and why you want to change it and then reflect on this once the pandemic has reduced,’ says Psychologist Gillian Bond.
But you can start resetting your perception about what it means to have a “stable” career, how to start a new career, what makes you happy and what the world defines as a “good life.”
Start with a few questions about how to move forward.
In his book, “The Dan Sullivan Question,” Dan Sullivan, the founder of Strategic Coach, talks about making your future bigger than your past.
An important question he asks about designing a question to help people make their future seem bigger than their past is this:
“If you and I were to meet three years from today, what would you want to have happened for you, personally and professionally, in order to consider those years a success?“
It’s a very important question that can help you design the future you want in all areas of your life at a very important stage of your life.
What are the changes you want to happen in your life? Identify the actionable steps you need to take to get closer to that reality.
One way to achieve what you want is to accelerate your learning — improve your skills or learn new ones to help you to fit new circumstances.
“Every skill you acquire doubles your odds of success,” says Scott Adams, author of How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big.
More than ever before, unlearning the old rules and relearning new ones is the key to vibrant later life. Learning agility is the name of the game.
In his book, Adaptability: “The Art of Winning in an Age of Uncertainty” Max McKeown argues that “All failure is a failure to adapt, all success is successful adaptation.”
Adaptability enables us to dwell on new circumstances and stay on top of the situation. To succeed in the new world of work, you must be in a constant state of adaptation — continually unlearning old ‘rules’ and relearning new ones.
That requires continually questioning assumptions about how things work, challenging old paradigms, and “relearning” what is now relevant in your job, your industry, your career and your life.
Your real education begins with your career, which demands that you continuously learn, improve your skills and adapt when the situation demands it.
You are the author of your life stories, regardless of the circumstances, find yourself. You have more control over many areas of your life than you think.
When life is uncertain, ask yourself: what do I still control?
For everything you can’t control, there is usually something you can control — you are in control of your actions and reactions.
Within your power are your mindset, your reaction to global events, how you can keep yourself safe or protect yourself, your reactions to what other people say and do, how you spend your time, who you decide to spend time with, where you put your energy and things you can actively or proactively do to prepare for the future instead of worrying.
It’s never too late to start over. Define your purpose and start making changes right now to get close to the future you want. What you thought you knew about life and living it has changed, re-write your new “rules” to make the most of your life, not the life expected of you.
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This post was previously published on Mind Cafe and is republished here with permission from the author.
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Photo credit: MoePike Soe
