As everyone is rushing to get back to “normal”, this is a perfect time to stop and look at how the last year has changed you. How have you changed? How has your management style changed? What are your expectations of an employer? How was your life before lockdown?
For me, taking time to look at what was happening before lockdown started helped put in perspective where I am today.
The fantastic Tiny Revolutions issue I reference in this video 👇
Tiny Revolutions â„–70: Thawing Out
Looking inward before heading out | Transcript
This transcript was created using speech-to-text and lightly edit by a human. Some errors may still exist.
Hey pals, I’m Dominic. And in this video, the importance of reflection, especially as things seem to be getting back to normal this time.
A few weeks ago, I got on this journey of self reflection. And it was instigated by finishing up my vaccinations, I got my second dose. And I knew that the countdown was on until I could go to a quote unquote, normal. I can’t go back out into the world and I could do the things that I knew had been waiting for me for more than a year. And that’s both personal and professional things that I could go out there and do now they they’ve now that the restrictions would be lifted on me. And in that self reflection, I’ve been thinking a lot about how has the world changed since the pandemic started.
Back last February, March, depending on what part of the world you’re in when the pandemic started? What was the world like then? And how has it changed to now? And in that thought process, I also spent a lot of time thinking about as it transitioned naturally to well, how have I changed? How have I changed in the last 15-16 months into the person that I am now? What has changed for me? How do I approach things differently? How am I a different person, because for sure, having gone through this, I’m a new person, now parts of me have changed.
Parts of the things that I find valuable have changed, my world has changed. So what has happened, and that reflection, that self reflection is really powerful for me, I’ve been thinking a lot a lot about it. And just recently in the great newsletter, Tiny Revolutions. In there was a great quote that talks about now that the unthawing is happening, which is exactly the way that it feels right? We’re not just going to suddenly jump in going to slowly unthaw into being whatever it is that the future is going to be. And then as we unthaw, how is that world look. And then the quote that really stuck with me is that she mentioned that she was very raw going in. And I feel that I feel a very strong connection with that.
And the reason why is because and I’ve never told this story to anyone else until now.
Last January, I was burned out, I was done. The job I had been working out for 18 years, I was done doing that. And I was actively looking for a new job. I was out on the job market. In fact, in January, when the pandemic first started to creep up into national attention. I was on an airplane, traveling to go to a job interview. I had burned out so hard that I couldn’t handle a job that I had loved for a long time and I was done I needed to go find something different. So when the freeze came, I was pretty raw going into it.
So of course when I unthaw I’m still raw, there’s still some things that I need to know any new attack, I need to to figure out what I’m going to do about them. They’re just been postponed, they’ve been frozen for the last 15-16 months. Now luckily for me in that time period, unlucky for me, I was laid off lucky for me, I found a great job. And so that’s solved one of the burnout problems that I had was that I was able to go into a new role. And it’s been great. And I’ve been very fortunate to be able to be in that scenario.
But as the unthawing happens, there’s other things that are important to me. There’s other things that are important to me professionally, too. So I think this is a great moment, as things are unthawing, especially as more people are being called back into the office and doing hybrid models. They’re doing part time in the office, maybe only certain people are coming back in for now. as that unthawing is happening. This time for reflection to think about, especially if you’re a leader. How have I changed in the last year? Do I like those changes? Are there some changes I don’t like how’s my company changed? How’s my team changed? How’s my approach changed? And that’s where the really important factors are? How is my approach changed? Do I email more? Do I take less meetings? Do I expect that not everyone’s going to show up to something so I need to send summaries do I want to make more videos for my teams rather than having individual meetings, we record podcasts, what is it that’s changed that you want to keep what hasn’t changed, that you want to see changed? And what has changed, that you think you could do better?
This is a moment for that reflection and look at your team and yourself as a leader and as your as a professional. What it is that you want to do, and what’s the future that you want to have because as you’re unthawing, you have this opportunity to set that. And for me going back to the way things were before the pandemic is not an option. Everyone’s rushing back to what they call a normal, which is what the way things were before the pandemic, but you don’t for me, the time is before the pandemic, I did not enjoy. And I do not want to go back to that. And so in this time that I have this reflection, I can see this vision on where it is that I want to be. Now, in a year, in three years and five years, and how I have changed as a person, what my expectations are, what my expectations are of my team and my co workers of my company, I can see the things that are important to me now as a professional and as a person. So if you could take that time, this weekend, then the next week and the next 10 days. Take that reflection, how have you changed? What do you like about it? What don’t you like about it? What change do you want to see? Have that self reflection moment for you start having a team back and have that conversation with them as well.
That’s what I got this time. Let me know what you think. Leave a comment below wherever you’re watching this video. See you next time.