5 Great Things About the Pandemic, Lockdown and Virtual Life

As a connoisseur of content, I’m always aware of what’s being said in the markets and industries that I participate in, even those I’m trying to learn more about. No matter where I’m looking, there’s one consistent message that has been talked about over and over again in the last several months:

“The pandemic sucks”

And while I don’t disagree with this sentiment (for many reasons), I have also allowed it to take up too much of my mind and heart. I have personally battled some intense, dark moments in the last 7 months and it’s an ongoing battle to fight off future ones. This time is lost, but not invaluable. 

You see, I was accused of being (and gladly accept the status) of being an eternal optimist. It comes with the territory of doing keynotes where you’re talking about emotional intelligence and achieving goals through resilience, but a lot of that optimism is born out of destructing and optimizing negative experiences. This is a fancy way of saying that I look for the silver lining and I learn from the frustrating, depressing and challenging moments in life. 

I bring you back to the time that sadness, frustration and depression has taken away from me in the last 7 months. It dawned on me to drink my own Kool-Aid and focus on the things that have gone right in the pandemic. This list below will hopefully help you turn your negative thoughts to gracious, patient and positive ones. I’m sharing this because there are plenty of things to get us down these days. And while I’ve been knocked down my fair share of times, these have always gotten me back up.

Zoom Calls

If you haven’t experience Zoom fatigue by this point, then I envy you. Yes, many days are filled with back to back to back to back to back Zoom calls and it takes a lot out of you. What I appreciate about Zoom calls is that it’s allowed us to find new ways to express ourselves and communicate. It’s broken down the barrier of communication to allow us more face-to-face contact with those who we would normally text or e-mail. 

It’s allowed me to comfort friends, and be comforted, in times of need where the emotion would have been lost otherwise. It has also allowed my son to safely attend school and continue to learn in the face of otherwise restrictive conditions. I am thankful to the people who have created platforms that allow us this technology that provides connection and the emotional investment that we should all have in our conversations. 

It has also opened up a world of possibilities and connections for virtual content. Whether it’s been video content or virtual keynote presentations, I’m so grateful that I have the ability to reach more and more people around the world to support and comfort them through my content and comedy in these presentations.

Speaking of school…

Distance Learning

Many parents, present company included, have been stressed about the distance learning environment that started last spring, and for many, is still a part of daily life. Sharing bandwidth, running up and down stairs, having to serve as your household IT department when your 2nd grader’s video won’t work is tough to do when you’re also balancing and managing your own Zoom schedule, e-mails, phone calls and work.

However…..

I have had the ability to see my son thrive in the virtual environment. I have watched him walk down the stairs and into my office with work that he just knocked out of the park to show me how proud he is. I have been able to help my son with his homework in the middle of the day, when I wouldn’t have normally had that chance to connect and lead. I have listened to some amazing teachers work through this to communicate and guide our children in an environment that they’re still trying to figure out too. 

Yes, it’s an extra tap on my time and attention. Yes, it’s caused many a frustration and pulled hamstring running up and down stairs. But it’s also provided many moments of joy that would have normally been attainable. 

Self-Care

As someone who speaks on this topic regularly, I am overjoyed at the attention that mental health is getting right now and the opportunities that people are being provided to take care of it. Think about when you were in your regular at-work office every day. If you felt the need to cry, to vent, to go for a walk, to disconnect to take care of something you needed to sort out, it was tougher to do. 

For most, you’re not in a private environment to have moments like that. Even if you have a door to close for privacy, the ability to lose it comes with some hesitation and guilt because you don’t want to seem “unavailable” with your door closed and how would you explain the noises coming out of your office? With virtual officing, many that I work with, and even me, have found new opportunities to engage in self-care on demand. Five to ten minute breaks for music, breathing exercises, frustration venting and whatever else is needed, can be used throughout the day vs. the day of holding your breath and emotions until you could get in your car and head home.

This time has also opened up so many critical conversations about mental health and self-care that have helped so many. Hopefully gone are the days that it’s taboo to talk about not being ok, not having it all together and not being impenetrable to bad moods and depression. We need to be having these conversations more, normalizing it and embracing those that need the support vs. ostracizing them.

Enjoy the freedom of taking care of yourself more frequently and leverage these new exercises moving forward. We need to take better care of ourselves and this time has provided us the need and the permission to do so.

Side note: I’ve also built some epic playlists for my self-care on Spotify. Check out my channel here for some good mood, focus and relaxing music. 

Humility

Nobody is perfect, and I mean nobody. This was the case before the pandemic and we’re just now seeing the human side of the world. Not just people’s preference in backgrounds, office décor and/or athleisure wear, but this has rocked a layer (or all) of our public facing defenses off. I have been blessed to be the resource for many of my friends and colleagues who needed someone to connect with in a time of desperation, fracture or help.

We are all in this together, none of us is above just being human and this is the time to deepen relationships because there is a new norm of humility that will help us all moving forward.

Family Connection

This is, by far, my favorite thing about the pandemic. 

I can’t tell you how many times my day has been made by the sound of laughter down the hall, the spontaneous snack breaks, the random hug visits and special projects or notes for dad’s office (see picture). These are moments that would never happen if it weren’t for the pandemic. These are hugs and time with my sons that would have otherwise passed me by in their lives. 

It’s because of the virtual office scenario that I get to have these chances and I’m beyond thankful and blessed for that. 

So yes, so much about the last 7 months, and the foreseeable future, does truly suck, but so did life before the pandemic. When this all gets figured out, life will still have challenges and negative ramifications. We will all face stress, anxiety, sadness, frustration and more. 

However, the one thing that I will be better for in this time is that, more than ever, I’ve been forced to look for the positive. The more I focus on the good that comes this time, the more I take the power back of my emotions and my own happiness. Because, as one of my favorite Peloton instructors has said, “We may get knocked down, but we never get knocked out.” 

This pandemic sucks, but I will do all I can to be a much better version of me because of it.