How the virus triggered my growth mindset
The world works in strange ways. This virus, besides being a vicious killer which has caused many deaths and made even more people sick, forced us to change our thinking, and I’m not talking about having to stay home. In some ways, it has opened our minds, emotionally, technologically, and spiritually.
Humans are naturally afraid of change. We like stability, familiarity, preferring not to venture out into the dark unknown, potentially getting eaten, attacked, or asked to do a job we aren’t good at. All scary things indeed, some deadlier than others. But there are times in our life when we are called to cross that threshold and move into a different zone (I’m suddenly thinking about fat-burn, cardio, peak - if you run with a heart rate tracker, you’ll know what I mean) due to various factors. For example, graduating and moving into a new school, getting married, changing jobs. These are milestones in our lives which might seem daunting, challenging, and stressful, but we eventually make it and settle in with a whole new outlook on life. "How did I manage that - it wasn’t as bad as I thought!"
The ease in which we contemplate, decide, and then carry out the plans is determined by how much of a Growth Mindset we have. Before that term was invented, it went by other names like Confidence, Grit, Agility, and Resilience - but it basically means being able to meet changes head-on and come out a better person. I believe we all have it inside us, it’s just the internal chatter that messes with us and causes self-doubt.
When the pandemic first hit, we all went through the phase I’ll call dread and denial. Just before tragedy strikes, things always seem to be going well - it could be denial, “my life was great, why did this have to happen?” We dislike change and anything that forces us off course would naturally be painful. Here we are, smooth sailing when a virus throws everything into chaos - comfortable, carefree lives suddenly fill with uncertainty. Talk of sickness and death abound. A sudden fear grips the nation putting everyone on the edge, constantly watching the news and being worried. Pictures of crowded hospitals with dying patients flood the airwaves making people even more nervous. "Could this be happening? Is it the end of the world?"
As we grappled with the realities of the situation - being stuck at home, school and events being cancelled, possible job losses, a sickening feeling in our stomach sets in - hopelessness - the realisation that we have no control, at the mercy whatever this thing is. This also hits home - that we are all in it together, not just in our families, but the country and in fact, the entire planet.
The world went quiet. As humans huddled in their caves, slouched over devices, or watching endless Korean dramas on Netflix, nature took the opportunity to regenerate. Grass grew wild as butterflies frolicked in the golden sun amongst the uncut flower bushes. It was as if the once in a lifetime pandemic came to give the planet respite, rescuing it from the relentless onslaught of carbon and other human activities which it endured every day. Earth had a chance to take a deep breath and rediscover her beauty.
During this phase of acceptance, we came to grips with what the virus was, how deadly it could be. Helplessness turned into a sense of duty that we all had to one another. Although many of us felt trapped and claustrophobic as our daily lives changed - businesses affected, livelihoods lost, freedoms curtailed, yet we understood that we had to do our part to regain control. Education and communication were essential at this point with the dissemination of new information and mitigation practices amid the constantly changing landscape of news that was being spread, accurate or not.
The final step for me was to reach a stage of what is often referred to now as a growth mindset. Basically, “Ok, I’m in this mess. How can I make the best of the situation?” Organisations everywhere are trying to encourage employees to develop this - they teach it in schools to get our youths to think beyond their innate capabilities and understand that anything is within grasp if they strive for it. You should not limit yourself to what maybe be perceived as your “natural” abilities. A virus came along and accelerated this process, forcing us to think out of the box.
Essentially, it made us realise that
With most negative things, there are positives that can be gained. For example, being forced to stay indoors could mean you get to clean up the house, taking on home-projects like planting and cooking. You also spend more quality time with the children.
Life goes on and new opportunities will arise. It is those who bounce back the quickest that are best able to take the early advantage. Profiteering is definitely not something we should encourage - but being down in the dumps for prolonged periods of time definitely won’t get you far.
Humans are capable of re-learning. You’re never too old to pick up new skills. This pandemic has brought digitalisation to the forefront. Many of the things we used to do - like attending church, meeting customers, business processes, had to be rethought to get around physical barriers. This has sped up technology adoption in many areas forcing everyone, young and old, to adapt. From what I’ve seen, we’ve all made progress, for better or worse - everyone now has their noses stuck in their devices.