What We’ve Learned from COVID-19

What Has Been the Rainbow with COVID-19?

 

I think all of us would admit that the last two years have changed our lives in many ways. For some of us, the change has been drastic and for others, it has only been mild changes. If you lost a friend or loved one to COVID-19 the changes have been drastic and on the other hand, if you just needed to cut back a few plans or activities, the changes weren’t that drastic.

We could focus on the negative that COVID-19 brought to our lives or we can see the positive lessons learned from going through the pandemic. I do not take this subject lightly since I early on had COVID before anyone knew how to treat it with the Alpha variant. Small businesses, for the most part, main street businesses were shaken to their roots, but many of our businesses have prevailed and are still with us today. So, what have been the positive takeaways from COVID-19? What have been the rainbows in the clouds?

 

Silver Linings of COVID-19

We could talk big picture lessons, but I want to take this to a more personal level because each of us has been touched personally by COVID-19. This might be a discussion you have with your family or friends to see what each of you has learned and what you have found to be most important during and through the current COVID-19 pandemic. I know most of us thought we would be through this by now, but with Omicron it seems like our lives have been turned upside down again although the virus is more transmittable, it does hopefully seem less fierce.

 

Life Slowed Down

I think many of us would agree that especially in 2020 the pace of our lives slowed down. For extroverts, it was a tough time of too much introspection, but for others, it was a wonderful break from a world that was and is on overdrive most of the time. The slowed pace gave us the time to look at what is most important to us in our lives. Many people I know started a gratitude journal for the first time.  People started gratitude journals for different reasons; first so they wouldn’t focus on the negative of what was going on and secondly because it let them see that even though things were in chaos there was a lot to be thankful for.

I think many of us missed family and friends, especially seeing them in person, but resorted to thinking outside of the box and got proficient with Zoom, FaceTime, and Skype. No, it wasn’t as good as getting together in person, hugging, and being close to people, but it did bring us together and let us have a connection.

Remote Work & No Car Pools

Part of the slowing down for many people was they shucked their commute with the COVID pandemic and some of us are still working remotely. There was freedom in working from home and we also gained many hours a week not commuting to our jobs.

I will admit that running a business and homeschooling grew our respect for teachers to a whole new level, but we got to engage with our children and their lives slowed down too. Our kids missed their friends and after-school activities, but they got to explore new ideas with homeschooling and got off the frantic pace that some families operate at.

 

New Hobbies & Routines

Many people for the first time planted a vegetable garden or took up a new hobby. One, because they had more time, but secondly because it gave them a better sense of purpose and helped put food on the table. Many of the activities went away, such as travel and eating out and we saved money and delved into hobbies and interests that otherwise we didn’t have the time for in the past.

 

We Realized How Important Our Health Is

For the first time in a long time, people realized how important their health is to them. They took a new interest in their immune system, which for many people never crossed their minds. As people got COVID-19 they realized that starting healthy no matter what your age is a determining factor in not getting very ill with COVID-19 most of the time. We ate out less and cooked more and suddenly online Zoom meetings that were cooking classes started happening.

Kaiser Permanente and other HMOs paid for the premium Calm app and MyStrength as a way of supporting their members in staying healthy during the pandemic. Kaiser is still paying for the premium service in 2022 for their members, realizing that stress is high and people need support at their fingertips.

Some people gained weight, while others during the pandemic bought an exercise bike and other equipment since gyms were closed. Now that gyms are open, they realize that having equipment at home and all the great apps that are for everything from running to Pilates or yoga to Qigong they can access right at home.

We saved money by not eating out and many of us started home meal subscription services or started taking a renewed interest in cooking and baking. So as much as some activities weren’t possible many of us tried new ways of taking a negative and turning it into a positive.

People Wanted to Help

People in communities were and are interested in helping each other out. Sharing food, going shopping for older people, making masks, and other ways of helping and reaching out. There have never been so many homeschool groups on Facebook as there have been since March 2020 and they are still thriving. People realized how important it was and is to support local businesses because these are the people they can rely on and it’s good for them to know we have their backs and want them to stay a part of our local lives.

 

We Brought New Balance to Our Lives

I don’t think till many of us were forced to slow down because of the pandemic that we fully realized the manic pace that our lives and society had taken on. Partway through 2020 many people did not want to return to the old normal and wanted to carve out a new normal life with more balance, connection, and meaning. I believe we realized it not so much the stuff in our lives that fill us up, but the people and experiences that we share together that fill our hearts and bring lasting memories. We realized what we cherish and how to put more balance in our life so we have the time and attention to have a life with more meaningful memories.

 

Our Gratitude

At Crystal Clear Home we realized how much we appreciate our clients. We started doing deep cleanings that concentrated on disinfecting and keeping your home as clean as possible. We had always supported the community, but during the early days of the pandemic, we had people call and say they would still pay even though they weren’t going to have their home cleaned at this time. We so appreciated the support and care from our clients that we have cared for their homes over the years.

So, all of us can think of things that are negative from the last two years, but we ask you to take some personal time, maybe with family also and list the positive things that have happened during 2020 and 2021. We have done this exercise personally and as a company and it has helped keep our compass pointed in the right direction.