We have all been awakened to how little control we have over what matters. And how much control we have over things that don’t matter at all.
We have seen that we have little control over the spread of a new virus. And the global supply chain of ventilators. And the stock market. And toilet paper.
Yet we have extreme control over things that don’t matter. For me, the wake up was in the number of emails I receive telling me what shoes I should be wearing for spring. Evidently, I need to wear some expensive espadrilles as I move from the living room to the kitchen, and back to the living room.
What about work? What were you stressing about at work a few weeks ago, that seems unimportant now? Maybe for some people, it is work itself? What did you ignore that now seems really important?
Being Human. That few minutes at the beginning of a meeting, where people check in with each other, say hello, is now more important than ever. We have been awakened to the knowledge that we crave human connection. We have learned about each other’s families, homes and dogs. We’ve given each other permission to be human and imperfect, and it’s beautiful.
New Prioritization. Work has been reprioritized. Initially, it was in response to the new need for fully remote workers and for some, there was direct COVID-19 response needed. But something more fundamental has changed in how we prioritize work. We have been forced to focus on the most important things.
Trust. We have been given implicit permission to drop some bureaucracy. In many places, management has been forced to trust their employees. In some places, the opposite has emerged, and trust has degraded.
Soul Twist: What matters a lot to you, but you have not been putting enough energy into it? What matters very little, and you spent a whole lot of energy on it in the past?
