I’ve experienced more than a few holiday seasons and, no matter the demands of the moment, set aside time to consider which insights from the prior year merit carrying forward.  I’m an unapologetic “glass half-full” person but the pain and challenge of 2020 has and continues to test us all.  None of us have been shielded from the terrible toll of these past nine months, nor frankly, should we be.  To be unfeeling is to be either ignorant or inhuman.  At the same time, I’ve consciously tried to focus my 2020 take-aways on positives that are rebalancing in turbulent times.

For me, these “pandemic positives” include:

* Shared Experience: 2020 is truly the year of shared experience, reaching across geography, culture and identity.  For all our separation and necessary distance, there’s the salve of knowing we’re neither unique nor alone in working to meet a common challenge.  This time touches us in unforgettable, and in the strain of the moment, not yet fully knowable ways. However, this much I do know … my appreciation and respect for my wife, kids and colleagues has never been greater.  Full stop.

* Sharpened Focus: The blur of time has slowed over this year, for me happily so. Time and space for sharp focus fuels creativity and innovation while helping defeat inertial thinking and its “rinse and repeat” outcomes.  Going forward, maintaining and protecting this safe space for sharp focus becomes a core part of my personal new normal.

* Empathy: Many of you know I believe empathy is the cornerstone of emotional intelligence.  As my favorite fictional character Atticus Finch said to his daughter Scout, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view … until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”  While I’m not a fan of the in-artful use of the pronoun, I believe and try to live its deeper meaning.  I see empathy in individual actions which protect the health and welfare of others, including the basics of masking and social distancing.  I see empathy in both heroic and everyday actions and it gives me a pervasive sense of optimism that our best selves will continue to be revealed.

I hope you’re similarly able to reach for the positives of this deeply disruptive time, insights you intend to carry forward.  I’d be keenly interested in hearing these should you wish to share.  Over this holiday season, these personal insights are perhaps the best gift you can give to yourself and those with meaning in your life.

Stay safe, be well and do good.