If There Is 1 Illumination Article On Medium You Should Read, This Is It
Addressing the post-pandemic conversations still in our heads
There is this writer on Kristin Wilson on Medium who just blew my mind with her insights, and that’s not easy. Currently, it has 25,000 claps and 212 comments.
Wilson wrote a great article called The Pandemic Proves That Society Was Wrong About How to Live Life in the popular Illumination publication.
For those new to Medium or who are wondering what to read because trusting Medium’s strange algorithm for your home page leaves you more than skeptical, this is the one.
In it, Wilson basically breaks down the conversations a lot of us have been having in our heads, especially people looking for work.
Although it was written in mid-2020, there are some profound and relevant ideas to consider. Take for example this quote:
Despite the havoc and destruction that COVID-19 has caused, it has also cleared the way for a new normal. Humanity has a chance at a fresh start — yourself included. Let that sink in for a moment. Now is your chance to redefine how you view the world and live your life.
It made me think for a moment. If we haven’t redefined how we view the world now, a year into COVID-19’s aftereffects, when will we? Some of us have adjusted to a bad situation. But how many of us have taken the daily imperfect action to move beyond “just getting by” and have completely redefined things? How many have accepted that a change has to happen in our careers and other aspects of life?
For the longest time, I just wanted things to go back to normal, but we don’t get to have that luxury. The virus is mutating and developing new strains. Maybe we’ll have to get COVID-XX shots for the rest of our lives, like flu shots. It wouldn’t be terrible, but here’s the point:
The word has redefined how we live now because of COVID-19. We can’t refuse to adapt to this wrinkle in our society.
At the same time this article came out, I was reading a lot of literature on Stoicism. One of my clients wrote voluminously about it as well so it really hit home. Our town was part of the West Coast fire evacuation plan. I can still get a sense of that smoke.
When we packed up, we went light. I have a ton of stuff in my house, but what mattered most was my family. Stoically, I told myself I didn’t need much of anything else. Wilson writes that “life is short, nothing guaranteed, and we are one interconnected human race on a shared planet.” It’s true.
When did all our stuff and excessive desires get in the way of experiencing what mattered the most?
Another striking thing that Wilson writes about is all the societal rules that the pandemic shattered. The ones about careers were spot-on.
For years I’ve been telling parents and Millennials I taught in college that there is nothing wrong with vocational degrees. College isn’t for everyone and it’s alright to not want to be hell-bent on running up the career ladder. This of course was met with sharp criticism. In the wake of this pandemic though, it all made sense to people.
Many found out what real value creation looks like. People had to invent new ways to generate income that didn’t involve big organizations. Some of the best entrepreneurial ventures came out of this. For example, instead of taking business courses, people were creating courses and selling them for a mint.
Screw over-priced college tuition!
Wilson’s ideas on society’s view of government were interesting too. We can’t rely on them any more than we can rely on complete strangers. Some people’s safety was over-looked. A lot of people suffered because of the bottle-neck vaccine roll-out, and some bad decisions from local representatives. Many people died.
Self-reliance has never been more important.
And if we ever hope to achieve greater health, wealth, and love we have to do things differently. We have to redefine our lives, and perhaps become more creative with our careers.
Wilson writes:
What if the flouting the rules weren’t a recipe for disaster, but rather a road map for finding happiness and fulfillment in life?
Schools and cookie-cutter career paths don’t teach you that. Life does. We have to listen to the wisdom of others, but temper it with what we believe to be true and good for us.
So if you want to live your life at a deeper and higher level, I urge you to read Kristin Wilson’s article. It’s one person’s story and experience, but it brings you closer to the bigger conversation that we should be having about humanity and happiness. Read it, think deeply on these things, and act. Now is your time.
Learn how I got by financially during the pandemic here.