30 May 2020-The Year that changed the perspective of the world
Lost, Exhausting, Depressing, Speechless, and a lot more are words I hear from many of my ex-colleagues, friends, and family when I ask them about the Year 2020.
Everyone can relate to 2020, even if we forget the struggle considering time is the best healer, but the traces will remain with us maybe for life long as it was no less than a war to fight and survive the Year that still has some traces left behind with most of us. But one can also not ignore the learning from 2020, and the list is endless.
The Start of the Chaos –
I remember the chaos around. While I was in Shanghai, I could feel the change in the air and environment from everywhere. I moved to India as the situation in China was worsening; however, as there is a saying, nothing is constant, not even the problem. Most of the people I know had to move on with the unknown, fear, and struggle. It was like null before the storm. In India, the same tension rose, and things changed for most of us. It started with a curfew and then a never-ending lockdown. Work-life was no longer a work away from home. It changed to working from home and still going strong. Clueless and depressing things were changing faster than usual. I was thinking to myself about how to not get into depression. The negativity was way too much around me. Training my mind and remaining positive was becoming a significant challenge; however, my 3-year-old was at home without any friends who used to look at me and smile with a new hope every day. That was my inspiration as a mother and as an individual. It assured me that we could win any situation with a smile & a rough problem is also not constant; needless to say, it was motivating enough to scuffle & muffle my way into the Year 2020.
The New Transition –
As I start writing a blog on the Year 2020, many memories keep buzzing in my mind. When the situation was not getting any better, most of us then had to slowly and eventually come to terms that the Pandemic was here to stay. The current situation had to be accepted for a better living & of course peace of mind. Like most of us, I also started reflecting on how to manage the 2020 situation in a better manner. Spending quality time with family and being extremely conscious of health were the critical elements. Investment to utilize time in the best way would help us grow as the focus for many people and me. I wanted to get back to work but was unsure as the market condition was going down; lesser jobs, much attrition, low income, and more were some of the highlights that ingrained the fear in most of us. Keeping calm was not getting any better until one day while discussing the training world, I realized that I should be able to develop some training solutions since being from a training background. Useful for leaders and individuals working from home, the learning should be as impactful and effective as it would have been for an offline scenario. Many of my friends discussed Coaching and mentioned that most organizations follow the leaders’ executive coaching path. It was the best time since work from home was at its peak, and people were ready to invest in their future-ready growth. I knew about Executive Coaching, but the experience of coaching someone on what they want and why they think it is not happening to make things happen with Coaching was yet to be known to me. I was ready to accept the new impactful phase by learning more about Executive coaching.
New Beginnings –
2020 did make me and many people I know a lot stronger as an individual. Also, it gave us time to reflect on what exactly makes us happy. Experiencing the Pandemic was like getting transported to a different planet. The learning from 2020 the Year was robust. Before 2020 the conventional lifestyle was pretty smooth and had a good balance of work & life; at least for most of my friends and me, my ex-colleagues, and my family, it was more of like planning quickly & moving on to execute the plan without any fear. However all of this has changed as I see most of us have started valuing time, health, increased quality family time, and enjoying the hybrid working model. Professionally frustration, irritation, or maybe overconfidence have taken a back seat for many of my known friends. How one can upskill to move up the ladder in corporate life or how someone stuck in one place gets to go to the next level are some of the critical pointers for most leaders I have come across. Apart from managing my son, who also faced many challenges on his way, re-launching my career was also a big decision, and I have somewhat been lucky to know people who showed the correct direction to do so. Getting back to the training forum, especially as an Executive coach, was challenging yet unique as the coaching field is different from a training path. It depends from individual to individual to understand the depth and then choose the training or coaching forum. As of now happy to be in my coaching field as it gives my mind a lot of positivity and determination that I can cross the most challenging bridge if need be.
To conclude, I wish that we stay happy and focused on achieving what we want to achieve and vigilant and move on in life with a smile always .
Written by
Shyamasree Banerjee
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