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What We Can Take From the Pandemic: Perspective, Passion and Peace of Mind

Does it feel weird to you yet? Walking outside without a mask? Do you live somewhere that no longer requires them inside? For the last 15 months, our worlds have been so turned upside down, righting ourselves is bound to cause some vertigo.

As we all find our balance, many people have floated the notion that before returning to normal, we should consider what parts of our previous normal are and are not worth our return. Let’s build upon it.

Before the pandemic gets too far behind us, let’s make certain we take hold of the perspectives, passions, and peace of mind that it will leave in its wake.
The vast majority of us did not see 2020 coming nor some events of 2021. Who could we have? The heart-wrenching suffering of both patients and medical providers alike, loss of life at unimaginable rates, and a stifling economic recession. If only we could erase 2020 and start anew.

​Well, we can’t. Nor should we try to wipe it from our memories. As hard as the last 16 months have been (and, it’s important to remember, still are for many), they did offer us many reminders that can help us march toward 2022 and beyond with more perspective, passion, and peace of mind.

Perspective

All setbacks, let alone tragedies, help us reconsider our priorities. The pandemic reminded many of us how privileged we are to have so many of the things we normally take for granted: access to healthcare, food, shelter, social safety nets, quality time with family, friends, and acquaintances. The last year also reminded us of the inequities in our world and the fragility of our freedoms.

Put perspective comes from gratitude. As Oprah Winfrey once said, “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”

Professionally, what new perspectives can we bring to our work? How can what we’ve learned in the last 15 months make us more valuable to those we serve, better able to address the problems we try to solve?

There’s nothing inherently wrong with helping people work toward a profit. There’s also nothing wrong with not.
Passion

Perspective brings with it a lot of power. Can these new perspectives, for example, help us ignite new passions? Or, perhaps fan now cooled passions to blaze again? We have to believe that the right perspectives can allow us to reclaim parts of ourselves we have lost or didn’t know existed. Parts that we can use in our work to make us better at what we do, better at being ourselves.

That’s what’s behind Spencer Brenneman’s shift to helping mission-driven organizations. We’ve helped a lot of traditional businesses over the years, but it no longer ignited the same fire. We’re still very proud of that work because there’s nothing inherently wrong with helping people work towards a profit. There’s also nothing wrong with not. That said, the perspective that the pandemic brought us made our choice clear.

Peace of Mind

Together, what can perspective and passion bring us? Over centuries, our culture has slowly but surely evolved into one in which nothing is ever enough. What is enough? When is whatever that is enough? How will we know?

It’s our hope that both the perspectives formed and passions ignited by the pandemic can lead us all a bit closer to having more peace of mind. After all, doesn’t peace of mind come from appreciating what’s important, as well as doing it?

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Before the pandemic gets too far behind us, let’s make certain we take hold of the perspectives, passions, and peace of mind that it will leave in its wake.

 

This article was originally published here.

 

Douglas Spencer

Douglas Spencer is founder and president of Spencer Brenneman and an independent consultant with the 2GO Advisory Group. Douglas is a brand strategist who helps mission-driven organizations reframe their focus and remaster their messaging to thrive in any environment. He has more than 30 years of branding and marketing experience, working with professionals from around the world in verticals such as financial and professional services, high tech, higher education, healthcare, and not-for-profits. He has worked with professionals from around the world in verticals such as financial and professional services, healthcare, biotech, media, and nonprofit. Before starting Spencer Brenneman he was most recently Vice President, Global Head of Brand Management for Thomson Reuters, a leading provider of intelligent information with offices in more than 100 countries worldwide. In that role, he guided the migration of the multiple Thomson and Reuters businesses to form the new Thomson Reuters brand which consistently ranked within the top 50 of Interbrand's Best Global Brands survey. Douglas is also the author of Do They Care, a book that shows business leaders how they can create meaningful connections with customers, employees, and others. He is a frequent speaker on how strong brands improve business performance through strategic alignment, employee engagement, brand governance, verbal and visual identities and more.

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