You know this. We are in between a major health crisis across the world. Our lives have been turned upside down overnight. Our news feeds are helping us stay on top of everything that’s happening, everything that’s hurting, and everything that’s changing. So I am not going to delve into that.
I am going to tell you about how 2020 is crushing it! What’s ‘it’? It is the Pandora’s box that has been open for years!
Pandora’s Box: The present (Read life before 2020) which seemed valuable but in reality was full of trouble
But first, I want to deeply acknowledge the pain, suffering, anxiety and hurt that you all have faced or are facing in this situation. I pray the world continues to look after you and eases your way forward. I also want to express deep gratitude to each one of you for the role you are playing in making this easy for everyone around you! Everything you are doing– sharing positivity, checking-in on people, wearing a mask, sanitizing door handles– is heroic. Thank you!
This year, we have spent a lot of our time looking at infection rates & death rates, analyzing peaks, and waiting for tipping points of the infection. Unfortunately, this has made us focus too much on just one half of the picture.
I am going to talk about the other half that many of us are missing out on – the unrecognized tipping points of 2020.
Tipping Point # 1
2020, The Great Equalizer
Before COVID19, we had outsourced a big part of our lives and we were oblivious to many other aspects that really mattered.
As the pandemic struck, everything came to a halt. We all had to start being responsible and self-reliant. And that was a tipping point.
- Gender Equity. Men and women have become equals for real – dividing work, adjusting to schedules, and acknowledging each other’s hardships more than they did earlier. More people are sharing work than they did earlier.
- Human Equity. The biases and the inequalities faced by the underprivileged, migrants, refugees, and vulnerable people are sharing more mind space than before. Our eyes are opening to their value in our lives and their sufferings. We are all thinking about them, asking more questions, leading movements, and running revolutions.
- Scientific Equity. As transparency is seeping in, experts from scientific communities to medical fraternities are questioning policies, systems, and structures that have been set up by others. They are calling out the gaps, they are asking for more rights, and they are front lining the future of their own fields.
In 2020, We are rising up to the tasks together.
Tipping Point # 2
2020, The Revealer of Unmet Needs
Were we really global? Were we really skyrocketing towards the most developed version of this world? Maybe, but it probably needs more time than predicted earlier.
Today, basic services like education have been hit by a storm. Extended corporate privileges like work from home are struggling for efficiency. There is no industry and no job profile that hasn’t been shaken.
Across industries, we are facing systemic issues, surfacing structural gaps, and witnessing day to day challenges. It is hard to not realize we have left huge needs of the population unserviced. To add to that, changing behaviors are opening doors for more and more disruption.
Unmet needs have been revealed beyond measure. They are literally out there on the table. Opportunities have spurted out at every corner. The potential for innovation is booming. It is the tipping point to co-create solutions with a focus on what really matters.
In 2020, we are putting a voice to our values and needs
Tipping Point # 3
2020, The Optimizer of Resources
Luxury has been redefined. We are lucky if essential services reach our doorsteps. We are lucky to have a spot available 6 ft outside the shopping mart. We are having to make do with what we have.
Initially, it was a cause of distress to many of us but with time it has become our way of living. Our frame of reference has changed. It feels okay to not be doing things that we were used to doing earlier.
It’s almost humbling to see people let go things that were ‘wants’ and not ‘needs’. It is a tipping point towards more meaningful actions.
In 2020, we are making the best of what we have
Tipping Point # 4
2020, The Hope For Sustainability
I never knew the sky above me was this blue. Before 2020, we had registered that our actions are destroying the environment but when nature took its course, we saw how deep the damage was. When animals roamed our urban streets, we saw the impact of our encroachments. When disaster struck, we saw where we dropped the ball. Today, balance is being restored by nature and by us.
This tipping point is tricky though. It is tied to many aspects of capitalism that itself has been hit hard.
But, there is hope that people remember the cheerful bird songs and beautiful landscapes that welcomed them every morning. After all, as the native proverb goes, we do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.
In 2020, we have witnessed our capacity to bring & adapt to change
Tipping Point # 5
2020, The Year of Empathy
This is my favorite. 🙂
This year, heroes without capes have emerged out of everywhere. Professionally and personally, empathy has seeped into our daily lives. We greet people wishing them safety, we are openly showing our vulnerabilities, we are listening more, we are sharing more, we are solving more, and we are giving hope.
We have all stepped out of our own comfort zones to go above and beyond in creating safe spaces for each other. As a result, our bonds are getting stronger, our conversations have more meaning, and our priorities have shifted to ‘people’.
This is the best tipping point we will ever be in.
In 2020, we are enriching more lives than ever
Here is hoping we continue to crush it this year and build a better future, a future that works for everyone.