Looking Back on the Lockdown to Rediscover Balance

Hard to believe but five years ago this week the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a worldwide lockdown due to the spread of COVID. By April 2020, about half of the world's population was under some form of lockdown, with more than 3.9 billion people in more than 90 countries or territories.

The lockdown and subsequent months and years of uncertainty to follow impacted all of us in some way. There were the day to day adjustments that included everything from how to get groceries to how to turn our kitchen tables into online classrooms for our kids. Isolation, anxiety and depression became mainstream topics.  Many struggled with serious health issues, and others lost family, friends and coworkers to a virus we just didn’t understand.  

It was a confusing, scary and sad time. 

But like all adversity, there was another side - positive one. Some interesting and amazing things were also emerging.

• Environmental - with dramatically fewer cars on the road, we saw an almost instantaneous improvement in air pollution. Skies were clearer than ever, animals were emerging in areas they’ve not been seen in and we all started to connect and appreciate nature a bit more. (great documentary about this by David Attenborough:The Year Earth Changed)

  
  

• Remote Work - we saw an equally fast shift to working from home for many that thought that may never be possible. Less commutes, less stress and more flexibility started to change how we work

  
  

• Innovation - entrepreneurs and businesses were finding ways to quickly adapt leading to new industries and breaking age-old models with everything from food delivery service to telemedicine. 

But there’s one thing that came out of COVID that I hear the most: balance.

The lockdown forced us to slow down for the first time in a very long time (myself included). We no longer had endless obligations to attend, places to be or things to do. We just had to be. 

And boy was that hard.

But that slower pace started to make a real impact, allowing us to do things like:

• Focus on self care

• Reconnect to faith, spiritual or religious practices

• Reconnect and prioritize time with family and friends

• Read a book or even write a book

• Take a nap or a bath or a walk 

• Take up a new hobby

The list that we put off for so long was really the only to-do list we had left! We had the time to do it. And it felt good. I know for myself, I had a sense of balance I don’t recall ever having. To the point where I almost felt guilty for feeling good during a time so many were feeling so bad. I had a source of energy, time, and creativity flowing every day. In fact, this very blog and my podcast were born from that.

And as things slowly got “back to normal” (whatever that is these days), many of us made a commitment to stay tapped into those things that we rediscovered. Those things that made us feel alive and good and balanced again - or maybe for the first time. 

And then…life happens. 

So here we are 5 years later, and I’m asking myself if I truly stayed committed to those things. Some of mine were:

• Being more intentional to make time with family and friends

• Traveling more with my family

• Be present - especially in nature

• Maintaining a mindfulness practice

• Prioritizing my health and personal wellness

• Exploring new hobbies like writing and music(wrote about this in a year end blog in 2020)

I’ve done pretty good on some of these, but definitely inconsistent on others. So, I think this week provides an opportunity to look back at the lockdown and ask ourselves some questions:

• Do we remember that feeling?

• Do we remember the changes we wanted to make?

• Are those things still important? 

• Why have we changed or not changed since then?

• What can we do differently tomorrow?

I cannot tell you want to do or what’s important to you. But if creating better balance is something you’ve been struggling with, you may look back at that difficult time to find you had a formula. There’s something you were forced to learn and you can tap back into it. 

It doesn’t have to be big or complicated, in fact, quite the contrary. But by looking back you may be able to find the very balance you’ve been seeking.