The Pandemic Aftermath

Been There ... Done that ... The Pandemic Aftermath

By Will Stewart, The Point 1888

In January 2020 I wrote passionately about the exciting roaring 2020s and how they would become the decade of honest collaboration that builds and delivers true purpose.

Then, in July 2020 I wrote painfully about the light at the end of the tunnel and how we had “survived” Covid. If I had known it would be another year until I felt anything close to comfort I’m not sure I could have survived.

I detailed the phases we went through; 1. Survive, 2. Adapt/Pivot, 3. Go Forth, and 4. Change the world.

Since July we’ve moved frequently between stages 1 and 3 but never quite made 4. But today after recharging my batteries in Devon, stage four feels closer than ever before.

So now to what feels like the final part of my Covid trilogy, I’m hopeful that my predictions will be a third time lucky type scenario.

We’ve changed everything in our business over the last 12 months. Protecting our culture during such isolation was huge. We ran weekly Happy & Kind full team meetings, ran team yoga sessions, and moved our summits and training to online platforms. As a team, so many of us have suffered individually but by continually reinforcing our family values we’ve made existing and new legends feel our culture of trust.

We didn’t get it right all the time. We are a fast-growing business and our project is addictive so we did let our collective guard down at times. But we recognised and owned our errors in order to put them right.

Ultimately, we acted with kindness in everything we did and this has now become central to everything we do. Beyond Covid so much has changed; the inclusivity and diversity movement, the calling out of fake purpose, and the devastating impact on our collective mental health.

Retail will recover. Businesses that survive will recover. The job market will recover. But the real pandemic has only just begun.

We are facing potentially an even bigger pandemic in global mental health, and this is where every single one of us can make an impact.

We have all suffered. Pain is pain but there will be many who are in a worse position than you. We all now have a purpose to be kind and help others. Not all the time. We need to be brave also to ask for help. I know I have, and it was very uncomfortable for me.

But talking about the mental impact of what we as a human race has been through, not judging others and encouraging them to be honest is free, simple and easy.

The light is certainly still there, sometimes it feels close but then it fades and flickers throwing our mental health backwards once again.

I am finally feeling shoots of positivity again. If the last 18 months have taught us anything then it’s that the simple, free things are those that are truly important. Having experienced the loss of loved ones like so many, time is our most valuable asset. Use it wisely and make every second count.