COVID-19 – an opportunity for true human connection

Whilst everyone is being told to stay home, offices are being shut down, people shop, learn and interact virtually, whilst social media is driving conflict between opposing opinions on the situation and whilst social isolation is on the rise in the context of the global pandemic called Corona virus – within all of this gloomy situation, there are actual, real possibilities. For more social awareness, cultural connectedness, for true meaningful human interaction through various modern channels and for furthering the concept of ONE human race.

The call for fear is a call for shared emotion

A crisis, especially a health crisis, usually brings on the worst of human emotions – fear that leads to aggression, conflict, withdrawal and judgment of others. COVID-19 has been a painful reminder of how society acts and interacts in the face of a common, unpredictable enemy. We do not unite or use empathy over selfishness. We divide, we fight, we try to be right and persuade others of our point of view. Fear cripples us, may it be the fear of an actual infection or of the impact on our daily lives, the inconvenience of it all – with travel plans being cancelled, conferences being called off and even universities shutting down. We seek to be acknowledged in our fear and feel united, people may even feel aggressive towards those who don’t share the same emotions or have a more pragmatic approach. ?You better be scared“, is a message shared frequently, as if fear was a requirement for responsible action, as if fear, when shared commonly, was felt less individually.

A battlefield behind the screen

The past weeks I ended up in two arguments with different people, because just like everyone else – my own patterns in dealing with fear and uncertainty took over. On social media I showed up as one of the down-players, reposting humours memes and judging mass panic and media hype. I have been witnessing people calling each other all sorts of names over their different emotional responses to the threat, I have seen people attacking and insulting one another in posts, stomping on opposing opinions. It has been a battlefield out there in the virtual, non-contagious world as much as in the real, crisis-stricken, contagious world – a social war fought from behind our computers and smartphones while we are called to stay inside.

EI and communication skills – the new focus of learning

It would be easy to see the advantages of today’s technological tools – many of us can work remotely, stay connected with our global co-workers as we always have, conduct business as usual. But it doesn’t end with that. This crisis is also an opportunity for allowing technology and digital interactions to become more human. It’s an opportunity to build on self-awareness and skills such as Emotional Intelligence and interpersonal communication. It is a massive opportunity to take our leaning inside and online – and with that, I don’t just refer to EdTech and online-training opposed to face-to-face interactions. It goes way further and touches upon understanding, true connection and acceptance.

The power weapon against COVID-19 is mutual understanding

Today I came to think it’s time to disengage from spreading my personal opinions into the world and move my focus from what separates us to what actually unites us in all of this. It means being responsible for our way of speaking, acting and posting just as I got present how I provoke and diminish when I am triggered by opposing views. I myself had used word like “stupidity” and “hypocrisy” in regard to hoarding of toilet paper and face masks, and I feel it is necessary I own my patterns that drive my communication. Maybe it is actually time we all acknowledge that in all of this, the toilet paper hoarders and toilet paper critics, the up-players and down-players, we are ONE human race, dealing with something we did not expect, we cannot gauge, and that we deal with utilizing all our individual coping mechanisms in various ways. Maybe it’s time to get present to the fact that whilst we engage mostly digitally and virtually with each other today, there is an actual human being on the other end – with fears, worries, stress responses as well as different risk factors and environments they are surrounded by. Maybe they are older than we are, maybe they have a pre-existing condition, maybe they have family in Italy or China, maybe they are disappointed by the cancellation of an upcoming trip – active listening, acceptance and an open mindset help us feel connected and united in times of uncertainty.

An unprecedented crisis calls for new leadership skills

Learning, especially in a global field, extends way beyond learning a different language or understanding different cultures – it reaches into the wide field of soft skills and advancing human connection. Today, in times of fear and uncertainty, intercultural and interpersonal understanding as well as empathy and social responsibility are the qualities of the social and economic leaders our world needs right now to be able to heal.