2020 nearly put our entire lives on hold. From going on vacation, attending a social function, visiting the mall, and the ilk, the pandemic abruptly halted our everyday life. The wide and fast spread of the pandemic introduced a whole new social interaction pattern and equally shut down the global economy. It is obvious no one ever saw this coming, even as we continue to count our losses. But rather than writing the year off as a total bust, let us pause to think through some valuable lessons that many of us learned.
- Family Relationship matters
Before the pandemic and lockdown, little things like creating time for the family and bonding were taken for granted. We suddenly discovered how much family time we were missing out on prior to the pandemic and how absent we have been in our children’s lives. Ultimately, rebuilding family relationships and understanding that family matters was one especially important lesson most of us learned during the lockdown. Family time and relationships were ignited, and there was more time to reach out to the rest of the extended family.
- Embrace Dynamism
The pandemic brought about lots of changes in our normal activities. Online learning was introduced for children making parents more inclusive in their children’s learning activities. Most working parents ended up adopting the work from home style while juggling between other activities. In the actual sense, those things we could not do were as good as perfectly done. Most parents who were never technologically inclined ended up appreciating technology. Parents have learned to adapt to this new normal.
- Personal hygiene is underrated
Many parents never strictly monitored the personal hygiene of their children and even theirs before the pandemic. We took hygiene for granted and never really paid attention to how far little things like washing our hands can save our lives. While this pandemic showed us the flip side of life, it also showed us how to value our lives and pay attention to personal hygiene.
- Fun should be prioritized
Before the lockdown, the only language most parents understood was work. There was zero fun time. Everyone was too busy to notice the fun things about life. The lockdown was an eye-opener for most parents and children. Suddenly we started looking for how to engage the kids and avoid boredom. Parents discovered fun ways of working and found fun in little things like face timing, family game, and the ilk. Many parents took to social media fun activities, and this was reviving and refreshing enough for the family.
- Finding purpose and discovering creativity
We can’t but appreciate that the erstwhile year gave a major boost to creativity. People’s creative sides flooded social media, people engaging their boredom and coming up with new ideas, discovering interests, and finding purpose. The lockdown made more parents observant of their kids. Many found out new talents in their children and even themselves. The lockdown period was more of a self-actualization period.
On a lighter note, this pandemic sure has brought out our interests –lol, I never liked to cook, but it was a better time to try out several delicacies. I think we have seen more chefs, artists, dancers, and writers who are doctors, engineers, and corporates by profession. We eventually found a passion, something totally different from our everyday routine prior to the lockdown.
What other lessons did you personally learn from the lockdown in 2020?
