By Shaka Senwamadi, Life Coach and Business Mentor
In my futile attempt to break from the overwhelming global discussions on the COVID19 virus which seems to have colonised our reality, I played a little game with a friend last night (online of course), that lead me to expressing my perspective on the effects of this pandemic.
In spite of the countless perspectives and theories on the virus, I found it fitting as a Life Coach to take a more practical and actionable look at the global state of affairs. Whilst many of us believe in the spiritual awakening that has now come or in the strong sense of humanity that has been birthed by such a pandemic, some of us are still not sure of what happens next in our day to day lives in this era, or who we are to become in this period of uncertainty and most importantly how we are to progress forward in such state.
Before I get to that, let me go back to the background story. The online game. This game was a simple ’Answer 18 questions truthfully’ (doesn’t sound like much of a game huh?). So in my plan to distract myself, I came to one question that brought me all the way back to the subject of today… ‘What do you love the most about life?’
In a moment of truth and without thinking, I answered, ‘That it can change any second.’
It was only much later before falling to sleep that I began to think about that one answer. And I asked myself why that was something to love about life. If it changes for the best then all good and wonderful. But what if it is a bad or unwelcome change? And can we really say any change is bad or unwelcome? What exactly do we feel about change? What do YOU feel about change?
CHANGE- having a different experience.
What we know is that the only constant in life is change. But in that quiet moment I was brought to question the truth of there being a good or a bad change. I recognised that change was all that it is- a change in the status quo. It simply means things are no longer as before or as we know them to be. Therefore change is a shift from point A to point B.
With this recognition, my idea of moving forward was to simply adopt the new environment and plan or live my life from that new point. Here is an example. Imagine you move from one area of town to the other (which we do all the time), or change towns completely, or even jobs! What happens thereafter is that you adapt to your new environment and then plan and live your life from that new place- this means using a different route to work, maybe leaving home at a different time, you name it. So all that happens is that you behave differently in order to adapt. Not good. Or bad. Just different.
ADAPTATION- behaving differently.
With the above definitions, it is clear that we cannot see change without adaptation. That is, we cannot ‘have a different experience’ without having ‘to behave differently’.
So with this different experience, how differently are we expected to behave?
Now to get back to the practicality of the outcome of this pandemic, I must address how we are to change and adapt to the ‘new’ environment. This environment calls for behavioural change- for us to behave differently in a number of ways.
Let’s take a look at the 3 simple things we know so far and map out how we can move forward:
1. Self-Isolation & Social Distancing- this simply means keeping yourself to you. And staying away from crowds or other people. It means being on your own. It is nothing but a quiet and extended moment for the self on someone else’s time (and money). Those that came before us and many teachers of our time have said that the best time to learn yourself, be yourself and love yourself is when you are by yourself. And that this is a necessary part of self-development or advancement. But we live within a growing ‘lifestyle agenda’ and social media frenzy that keeps us following groups and being in many places so as to be visible or to ‘be alive’ or simply to not miss out. As such, many of us miss the opportunity to create a strong sense of self on which our behaviours and decisions are rooted. In chasing the illusion of life that is driven by this agenda, we eventually neglect to root ourselves within, ultimately advancing social ills such as peer pressure, drug abuse, etc. and the subsequent outcomes of these. Thus with this new experience, we are all called to go into the centre of the self- that is the place within ourselves. As much as we meditate on a daily basis to keep ourselves balanced, we must grow to maintain that balance over the course of our lives. This is necessary for the evolution of the (inner) self, which desires peace -without external influence. And this seems a good beginning.
2. Working from home/ forced leave/ staying home – Though this strongly relates to the above, it forms a second actionable step. In a conversation with another friend this morning (online as expected), she mentioned that she will be on forced leave and will be getting half pay as a result. She however mentioned that this has given her the opportunity to focus on a second stream of income. As I pondered on her statement, I realised the change to think beyond the structures that employ us and to plan our lives beyond the workplace. Over and above spending quality time with our families and consequently strengthening family structures, staying at home allows you to work on the things you have wanted to do but never had the time to do. You can start your business, improve it or work on that project you have had sitting at the back of your mind. You can pick up a new hobby- work on that art project, start that backyard garden you have been meaning to start for years (I know I have) or simply take an online music or dance class. You may even sign up for an online course in your field or other field of interest. The list here is endless. All that is needed is to begin and get lost in the process! These changes in working structures have also tasked not only small and large businesses but also governments to review what is essential and vital with a purpose to restructuring their focus and operations. They have ascertained the need to focus on specific aspects of their economies and successively build stronger structures and processes. A welcome change indeed.
3. Personal & Environmental Hygiene- put simply, ‘cleanliness is next to Godliness.’ This is in no way a religious statement but it merely reminds us that there is purity in being clean. Though we may argue that the level of cleanliness required may be a little extreme to say the least, can we really say something is ‘too clean’? Many of us can admit that we could use a little more caution especially in public or crowded places, outside the effects of the virus. The more things change in the world and the more various structures continue to be built, the more it has become necessary to take care of ourselves, our environment and most specifically those that are in need of care. This seems to have been a necessary change for the world as a whole.
Though this list in not exhaustive, we can apply the same perspective of change and adaptation to many other outcomes of this pandemic. It is important for us to know that life goes far beyond the places we work in, the people we socialise with and the social structures we subscribe to. Our lives are built day to day through the efforts we put into ourselves to grow ourselves in all aspects of our lives. We are founded on the legacies we will live, and the impact we will have once our time has come. We are all called to live a life of purpose.
This different experience calls for what I call a forced journey within. In many aspects of life, we are tasked to introspect, evaluate and analyse the structures we operate or those that we are involved in. We can now learn and know who we are, what we truly possess (in our lives, our careers and in our relationships) and most importantly, what our future should look like. We can in turn build stronger structures within ourselves.
What we experience as global objectives curbing the spread of the virus, may very well be what we need to come unto ourselves as individuals, as people, as nations, as humanity and as a world.
If you were looking for a sign, this may surely be it.
Hi. I am Shaka, and I am a Transformational Life Coach.
And I DARE YOU TO CHANGE YOUR INNER GAME.
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