HR Newsletters 2021

A Time for Reinvention

Dr. Krystal Thurman

M uch discussion surrounds the stressors brought on or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Financial hardships, home-schooling children or grandchildren, adaptation to new and different technology, anxiety, stress, and the list goes on. One aspect mentioned less frequently is the way in which the pandemic has forced us to rethink our sense of self. Each of us faced a deluge of upheaval and change that spurred from the stay-at-home and safer-at-home orders. While it may have been overwhelming, it encouraged or pushed (depending on how you perceive it) each of us to rethink the way we live and manage our lives. 1. Introverts, like myself, rejoiced at the prospect of working from home. Extroverts, on the other hand, probably sought to remain connected more frequently through means of technology, phone conversa- tions, and, when allowed, face-to-face small group gatherings. For many organizations, it was an oppor- tunity to test how work-from-home would impact productivity. Many of us have a stronger sense of un- derstanding about how we prefer to conduct our working lives and the degree to which we need social interaction and community on a day-to-day basis. 2. Financial hardships or concerns triggered many to take a deep dive into our finances. Building up a hefty savings account has never seemed more important. To reach our savings goals, we have been forced to evaluate how we spend and evaluate what is truly necessary. Many are now assessing financial well- being and taking steps to respond to potential future financial strains. 3. All that “extra” time, i.e. time not spent commuting to and from work or children’s schools, each day mo- tivated many of us to take advantage of different, new, and/or more frequent exercise. Thirty minutes of walking a couple times a week became thirty minutes to one hour of walking five days a week. Now that restrictions have lessened, many are looking at ways to continue healthy habits established during stay-at -home orders. We are now at a point of greater awareness, a turning point if you will, for moving forward – for rein- venting. Kimberly Davis (2020) stated it well when she said, “Amid the chaos and loss of control, our own sense of self is one of the few things we can control.” Not everyone has experienced the pandemic in the same way or to the same degree. A commonality among us, however, is how we can use the experiences to re-evaluate what our emotional needs are, what our financial well-being should look like, and what we wish to see from our relationships with others whether with friends, family, co-workers, or our community. What you want out of life may be far different than what you had planned only a few months ago. Cut through the noise of the world and exert control over the things you can change. Now’s the time to reinvent your life; you’ve already been forced to make difficult changes that you might not have otherwise made. Find ways to keep the positive and overcome the negative. There’s truly no time like the present. Following are but a few examples of ways the pandemic has impacted our lives:

Rerference: Davis, K. (2020, June 4) Reinventing yourself: Who will you be post COVID-19? HR Daily Advisor. https:// hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2020/06/04/reinventing-yourself-who-will-you-be-post-covid-19/

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