FRIDAY, MAY 17, 2024
Sunil Dias
An invisible and elusive enemy has hit the pause button in our lives. Every aspect of our lives has been disrupted. It’s an uncertain time. More than any we’ve experienced in our lifetime. And while our lives are limping back to normal, anxiety levels for many continue to remain high. We’ve suddenly been exposed to a world which is familiar and unfamiliar in equal measure.
But worrying isn’t going to help. To lift everyone’s mood, this post looks at some positive data. Not data about ‘positive cases’ which you’ve probably had your fill of! But data about how our lives are significantly better than even a generation ago. While our lives have become more uncertain over the short term, it’s a different story if you go back some time. This article looks at some of that positive comparisons. To remind you, in case you’ve forgotten, that things will get better. Here are the 7 reasons to stay positive.
#1: Longer, healthier lives
From the start of the 20th century till date, infant mortality has reduced a hundred-fold. We are living longer and healthier lives. There’s a lot less disease. And we are much better equipped today to handle disease when it does hit. Epidemics have hit with regularity in the past. And you’ll be wrong if you think that the well-to-do were spared from common disease. The richest man in the world in 1836, Nathan Rothschild, died of an infected abscess. Antibiotics only became mainstream around 100 years later. There is even an American President who died of cholera.
Covid-19 too has also not spared anyone. If anything, richer countries appear more impacted than the poorer countries. Yet, there are some definite positives when comparing to past pandemics. We know a lot about the disease. The viral genome was sequenced by January 8 and made public. This genetic sequence is critical information in vaccine development. Even as recently as 15 years back, it would take several months or more to sequence a genome. There are scientists working overtime to get us a vaccine. We also know what precautions we need to take to minimise the chances of us contracting the disease.
#2: More peace, more safety
Statistically, you are likelier to kill yourself today than someone killing you. Contrary to what the news tells you, the world has never been safer. Fewer and significantly smaller wars. Fewer accidental deaths. Sure, terrorism incidents have increased. But even there the numbers are minuscule. Our perception of the terrorist threat is much higher.
#3: More freedom
The opportunity to follow your passion has never been more. You can be a 15-year old and make good money on YouTube. Or a 70-year old and become a stand-up comedian. The chances of you making a living by doing what you love to, have increased. All over the world.
There’s more freedom to follow your religion or be an atheist. Or to have varying sexual orientations. There’s more freedom to choose your workplace, especially for women. Other than temporary blips, there’s more freedom for dissent.
#4: Less work, more leisure
We work less than a generation ago. And have more vacations. If you go back even a generation ago, holidays consisted on going to a fixed place almost every year. Typically, during the summer vacations. We now have long weekends marked out on calendars to enable us to plan that next vacation. Sure, the coronavirus has put most travel plans for the foreseeable future in the cold storage. But that’s a temporary blip in the record highs global tourism has been hitting every recent year other than 2020.
Work cultures are more open than before. And with professionalisation across the board, companies no longer ‘own’ you. In our personal lives, we’ve got access to a million new ways to keep ourselves occupied. There's almost an inexhaustible list of activities we can sign up for.
#5: More comfort
Whether at work or at home, technology has made our lives much more comfortable. There are machines for everything. And the machines keep getting more intelligent and simpler to use. From voice-activated remote controls to noiseless car cabins. To communicating painlessly with someone anywhere in the world.
#6: More rationalism
The world’s more rational. We no longer burn old ladies thinking they’re witches. Or force ladies to join their recently deceased husbands in hot places. There is more rationality in the world. We act based on knowledge and reason. Instead of superstitious beliefs or emotional responses. In businesses we use more data in our decision making. We make more rational choices with greater information access.
#7: More happiness?
Are we happier than the generations before? Maybe we’re not. But if we’re not happier, it’s not because life has become worse. It’s become significantly better. It's because we’re good at finding new things to be sad about. That’s a lack of contentment. Our tendency of not being content in the moment. That's something which has always been there. It's not unique to our current times.
What about my business?
You’re hopefully feeling better after reading these 7 reasons. What about business? How should you deal with the business disruption? I covered this is some detail in my previous article. Some pointers below
. Keep moving: Try to continue and/or restart all business activities to the extent possible
. Tweak or transform your strategy: There’s more distraction free time. Evaluate where your business is going and have a look at your strategy
. Relook employee roles: It’s a great time to sit back and understand the roles of your key employees.
. Relook processes: With employees likely to have more time on their hands, get them to document your key processes
. Find new partners: A lot of people are at home with less work than usual. It’s could be a great time to initiate dialogue with potential new partners or customers.
. Stop looking at the news: Nothing more than a couple of times a day.
. Be kind to employees: Its an uncertain time for everyone. Be kind to your employees at office and at home.
Closing thoughts
The intent of this article isn’t to belittle the magnitude of the current virus situation. It’s scary and we all need to take required precautions. But we also need to learn to live with the coronavirus. And to think of the coronavirus as a temporary period of uncertainty and pain. As a moment in time which shall pass.
Uncertainty and pain both are a part of life. We’ve always worried and grumbled about it. And emerged stronger. So, stay happy and keep smiling. As the quote often attributed to Lao Tzu says, “If you are depressed, you are living in the past. If you are anxious, you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the moment.”Live the moment and before you know it, better times will be upon us.
