The pre 2020 years for many of us represented a mode of work daily life and just doing things different intensities of rat race. We were so busy achieving, almost at the borrower of no matter what, that we lost the interest to look at other things in our surroundings.

I am not sure what we used as a measure of success, or real achievement. I am sure however, that we left a lot of things behind and we may never recuperate them.

And as I was thinking about that, Corona virus came to visit. I do hope it is a short one. Nonetheless, it is here as an uninvited guest driving a great impact on our short term life style. But as consequences of the new circumstances we face mount and settle in we started paying attention to many things in a different way, fresh glasses. We have an opportunity to really learn about and appreciate situations and things that make our days shine and make our life a beautiful life.

Looking at my own experience, my own process during the unwanted unexpected Corona visit I believe people are going through a real-life changing transformation. People are behaving in ways they didn’t before because of circumstances, because they do have more time, they are being more thoughtful, they are afraid, feel out of control and the very few things they can control is ‘how’ they live their lives, taking their time to think about others, shift their priorities and be kinder to themselves and each other.

As I ZOOM-work with clients, I try to create a positive frame of mind from the outset of the tele-meeting early in the conversation. Inquiring about something good that happened since our last tele-meeting. News related the healing from the virus of a friend or a family member always takes precedent. But in the absence of such an event like that, invariably the response is about the new daily life style and routine they developed home.  Home, not in the house.

We all use a newly found time and focus to do some adjustments in the house, the apartment or the condo into a warmer place which we call home. A place that has our family signature of humanity. We thrive on the effort to add to it a shared “homish” flavor. All able family members participate, so it is really “our home”. We find time to rediscover our family.

As it happens, the responses of the new positive occurrences they can share sound as follows. I find time for the kids, a lot more time than ever and the kids feel the priority that they really are. We, my spouse and me became teachers with enough time and interest to learn together and support them to adjust to the online learning approach. My spouse and take daily walks. We discuss the day after, the learning and the positive aspects of the time we are sharing. We make plans, we discuss the menu we plan to cook together. We involve the kids in the house cleaning and the cooking as competition and we tell the family stories and what is really important.

I am catching up on my reading and discuss it with friends, Others say they are studying a language or taking some on line courses and do homework jointly with the kids. The extended family, where ever members may be, jointly learned that being together and being a family is not about sharing the physical space we share, it is more about doing things jointly at the same time and share in events that belong to all. Such are birthday celebrations with all members of the family wherever they happen to be. Everyone agrees that had they not ZOOMed the activity or event, many family members would have not shared in the BBQ, the laughter and the warm joint celebration.

The list goes on and on. Some may argue that people saved on commute time and that is one of the reasons they can have these newly found activities. Yes, we did save commute time. This is not it. Newly found activity? No that is not new it was always there we just did not focus on them. As many of us, “high flying” mangers, executives, and other busy professionals were driven by the circumstances and the new realities were driven to adopt new priorities scheme.

I believe that what really happened is that we focused on new priorities that moved us away from the rat race unwritten rules we accepted to live by. We came to realize that family is an important root enhancing safety net. That our children have a tradition and a value set to learn and adopt. The newly lived experience likely opened many people’s eyes towards the realization that likely several of the priorities that dictated behavior in recent years and put us on the rat race trade mill. The look in retrospect at this reality made evidenced the need to examine the priorities we lived by, the priorities that drove us to try and win the rat race.  The tacit comparison of the approached which build strength and values cannot happen if you win the rat race, because if you do you are still a rat, as the saying offers.

We allowed the transformation to settle in, to teach us about ourselves and we accepted it as a positive thing.

Examining the realities of the executives I work with and taking a deeper look at their positive experiences suggest that what is happening is that accepted to examine and change the focus of our priorities and we like what we have. Indirectly we put our value system, under a microscope and unconciencly assessed them to find out what are the things that really are important to us. Very few of us would have taken five weeks to stay home and work a different schedule just to be able to spend more time with those we love and with those we say we work so hard for.

I hope one of the impacts on all of this in the work world will allow for new values to emerge, a new rebalance of things, a new order towards a better life for all.  Maybe being a ‘super’ parent will not be the norm.  Maybe putting the wellbeing of humans at the center of things will really start to take hold.  I don’t know.  There is a fear that things will just go back to ‘normal’.  I don’t see how that is possible.  Haven’t we learned anything in the last 40 plus days?  I hope we have.

I must say that I am glad many are seeing the light of what is real and part of what we call home. I am glad so many I talk to are willing to adapt to and adopt the new way, the new normal and carry it with them.

I am glad our priorities are shaken and we can do things in better order.

Thank you hope!