Most people alive today are witnesses to the greatest crisis of their lifetime. With millions dead and several others infected, multiple layoffs, threats to job security, rescinded offers for graduating students and adverse effect in every sector and in every household, we have not been hit harder in recent times. As economies scramble to balance lives versus livelihood, emerging reports of mental health issues and associated consequences shatter the prospects for a better and brighter future, beyond any doubt. In these uncertain times, it is more important than ever to leverage our unique potential to define or reinforce a career trajectory with a focused pursuit to achieve our goals. Here are a few insights that can come in handy to navigate through this unprecedented catastrophe:
Prioritize your response to the myriads of problems:
Multitasking is essential in our lives and times. However, multitasking is often overrated when it comes to solving problems in professional as well as personal front. It would be prudent to list your problems and tackle them one by one instead of going after all of them at once and feeling overwhelmed. Next, comes the question of prioritizing the problems, and, more importantly, your response to those problems. Some problems can be tackled quick and easy, others need time and effort, some of them need immediate attention, others can wait. Many people have found it useful to use their best judgement to balance the sugar and the peas. If you start your day feeling strong and positive, get a difficult problem that needs immediate attention off your chest and the momentum you gain would cruise you through the easier ones. If you need a confidence boost in the beginning take the reverse route. Now, we will all encounter problems that we cannot solve, even with our best efforts. We will have to innovate to bypass those and still survive.
Master an act of balance between staying focused at the problem at hand and not losing sight of the big picture:
It goes without saying that focus and determination are the keys to solve a challenging problem. However, a myopic view of the problem at hand can often lead to bigger problems. It is always insightful to have a clear view of how the problem at hand fits in the grand scheme of things or align with one’s life goals. One can derive ample motivation to tackle the problem at hand and celebrate a successful solution with this mindset.
Be an efficient problem solver relying on strong foundations of knowledge and wisdom:
Knowledge and wisdom go hand in hand in empowering individuals. They often embolden us to take on the most difficult of problems. All of knowledge is acquired, wisdom is believed to be partly innate and mostly gained through experience. A perfect blend of the two is rare in an individual but can surely be cultivated. I would opine that this cultivation is multi-sourced and is certainly not limited to one’s academic or industrial training. A good book or a movie, insightful discussions with friends, family or an expert in any discipline, interesting and often life changing events can make a person wiser. If we assume that knowledge and wisdom of a person are constants at the time of attempting a problem, I will count on the instantaneous variables of wit and ingenuity that can immensely influence the outcome. Wit and ingenuity, like wisdom does not have conventional sources to gobble up, yet I bet all of us have come across several witty people in our lives, based on our judgement. We can certainly learn from them.
Stay curious with an open mind and appetite for learning to foster innovation:
It is easy to take things as they appear for granted. However, the inquisitive nature of individuals prompts them to question things as they appear. Rather than being blind-sighted or overwhelmed by problems, use your best judgement as you approach any problem, or you are presented with information. With information overload at this digital age, it is hard to tell facts from information. However, there are resources (thanks to the digital age!) for one to verify the authenticity of any information that is presented to them. Flexibility of mind to accept change and to learn, un-learn and relearn will go miles in helping us cope with this predicament and innovate our way around it.
Nail it with rigor and perfection:
More often than ever, now is the time to be rigorous in our pursuits. Short-cuts to transient glory will come and get us sooner than later in these trying times. I believe all of us are good at something that need not be the same thing. We need to concentrate on those faculties, get proper training, grooming and guidance from the right person (use our judgement) and take our best shots at the problems looming large. I would not advocate for the pursuit of perfection to be the enemy of the good. However, the satisfaction of taking your best shot with the resources you have is too good to let go.
Be an optimist for life, it is not that long!
We claim to be the smartest species on earth to the best of our knowledge. Yet, unless a radical scientific progress extends our life span by years, our terms are limited, even more so, with the current situation. People often confuse between optimism and happiness. I would not debate that they do overlap at times. Often one of those two triggers the other. It is impossible and irrational to stay happy all the time. However, with conscious and subconscious optimism, we will wake up from this nightmare.
© Dr. Sagnik Chakraborty, PhD. Physics, Co-founder, Faculty and Mentor at Vector Educational and Consultancy Services
www.vectorideas.com
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