Where do we go from here?
It's September 2021 and we are closing in on 2 years of living in a pandemic. Being the optimistic people we are, we want to believe that at some point in the not too distant future someone will announce it's all over and we can return to life as it used to be.
There’s a problem with that thinking - it’s wishful and maybe even harmful.
The reality is we are never going back to life as it used to be. We never do. Events like pandemics have a way of reshaping us and as we get closer to the second anniversary, we can see the ways that we have been reshaped.
In his book, "Only the Paranoid Survive”, Andrew Grove talks about the inflection points in business. These are the disruptive points where a business must choose to either change or die. Some die. Some survive. And, others thrive.
Can anyone remember Blockbuster?
The inflection point was the introduction of Netflix - where anyone could have a streaming service, pay a monthly fee, and have unlimited access to all the movies they desired without leaving their house. Blockbuster wasn’t interested and they passed on the opportunity and now they are a distant memory.
Similar fates have happened to Kodak and Polaroid. There are all kinds of businesses facing inflection points. In fact, the inflection points will never end. There is wave after wave.
On a personal level
We have these same inflection points in society and in our personal lives as well; they reshape who we are and the direction of our future.
A health crisis that forces us to make significant health choices or face a shortened life expectancy.
A relationship breakdown or job loss can have a lasting impact and will reshape us.
The COVID pandemic is one of these inflection points and will determine how we live our lives moving forward. We can live in fear and loathing or we can embrace the new reality and start planning our lives again. It’s time to decide your next move. If you want to wait, you might be waiting an awfully long time and eat up a lot of valuable years.
Sure. Adapting is difficult.
It’s harder and much more cumbersome to do anything these days, but it is still possible. I completed a cross-country trip to Newfoundland last September and the planes and airports were packed with people going somewhere. We did a vacation to Mexico in November and had no problems at all.
Nothing is ever quite as bad as the media makes it out to be. Take the time to learn the process for travelling to your destination and then follow the protocols in place.
Start with some small trips and then venture out from there. Make sure you have the proper emergency travel medical insurance that covers COVID-related illnesses and delays.
There's still a lot of life left to live - go for it!
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Willis J Langford BA, MA, CFP
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