Photo by Niklas Ohlrogge on Unsplash
It’s the second week of June 2021...are you as surprised as I am? The last couple months have been fascinating and frustrating for me. Between getting The ‘Rona vaccine, the CDC saying you don’t need to wear a mask outside around other people (confession: I wasn’t doing this anyway), and stores not requiring masks for vaccinated folks, it feels like a whole new world. And part of me doesn’t like it at all.
Anyone who knows me knows I have personal space issues. I can get (what I call) people claustrophobic, where when I’m surrounded by too many people I don’t know or trust (which depends on the day), I start to panic. I was in a grocery store last week and almost hyperventilated based on the number of people around which I had to maneuver. Not cool. I know many people who want to keep wearing masks because it made their lives better, mine included.
Yet I realize this isn’t really feasible. And one of the hard things about this is giving myself the space to not be okay for a while in this transition. Many people had a hard time going into the pandemic. I kind of liked the space and pace of it. Many people are having a difficult time coming out of the pandemic, and I’m one of those people.
As leaders, it’s our responsibility to vocalize what might be going through people’s heads but they are afraid to say. It’s also an opportunity to ask questions about how they are taking care of themselves (in a workplace appropriate way of course!). The past fifteen months have been a struggle for all of us in one way or another. There will be a period of adjustment, and our caring leadership can facilitate a potentially smoother transition for those around us and our organizations.
Questions to ponder:
● Where have I struggled over the past fifteen months?
● What do I need to voice to honor the parts of me that struggled? The parts of me that thrived?
Stay curious friends!
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