Roberta Matuson* was recently reminded of what she is missing because of the pandemic — and then of all the opportunities this strange situation brings.
I recently received a memory from Facebook, reminding me that I was on a plane with my family flying to Portugal a year ago.
That memory reminded me of what is no longer to be for the foreseeable future.
The more I thought about what I had lost this year, the more depressed I got.
I started going down a rabbit hole and began lamenting about how much I miss being able to travel the world.
I then went onto to list everything else that has changed in my life since the pandemic began.
After my self-pity session was done, I sat down and listed all the great things that were going on in my life.
Our family is healthy. I have a new book deal. I’m traveling to Philadelphia (okay, it’s not Paris) in a few weeks to help our daughter move into her new apartment.
I’m planting lots of seeds and creating new offerings to ensure my business continues to prosper.
All of us have a choice here. We can spend our precious thinking about everything that didn’t happen this year because of the pandemic.
Or we can choose to move forward.
I’m moving forward. How about you?
You can blame the fact that you’re stuck in a job that you don’t like on COVID-19. Or you can choose to pursue a new opportunity.
You can give up on the idea of a promotion this year. Or you can spend the next four months becoming the obvious choice for a promotion.
You can blame your poor leadership skills on the fact that you now have to manage people remotely.
Or you can take this time to learn how to be an incredible leader.
Yeah, the last eight months has been a non-starter for many. That’s in the past.
Where do you want to be four-to-six months from now? That’s what matters now.
Don’t look back. You’re not going that way.
*Roberta Matuson is president of Matuson Consulting which helps Fortune 500 companies and high growth businesses create exceptional workplaces leading to extraordinary results. She can be contacted at [email protected].
This article first appeared at matusonconsulting.com.
