Our lives are a series of lessons. Sometimes we repeat lessons before all the learning sinks in.
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with a business person who worked in retail banking. This person's hours were reduced due to the pandemic. During that time he was able to enjoy his new family and help around the house. He also started a side gig to make use of his new found flexibility and supplement his income. He is now back at the bank full time and is thankful for the the time he had and the lesson he learned about priorities.
His life lesson was around using his time to re-evaluate his perspective around how much he valued his family and how important being present is to relationships. He also learned about the loyalty and care of his employer. He has a revised perspective about how work can support a lifestyle he wants instead of building a life around what is left after work. He also learned that his take-aways from his experience are different than others in similarly situated circumstances. He also learned that it's important to surround yourself with possibility thinkers if you aspire to move beyond your current circumstances. Finally, he learned that we all have the ability to make things happen, and that waiting without action usually doesn't create the change we desire.
It was a great conversation and good reminder that life lessons are all around us, if we choose to be a learner and a doer. Take in the lessons in your circumstances and use the learning to propel you forward.
