RESET +one

A month ago, I published an article titled, ‘The Great Resetting’. It was centred around my hopes for how society can reset and re-emerge from this crisis both stronger and better connected. In the article, I called out some of the unsung heroes. Today I wanted to pay my respects to a hero of mine and update you on my hopes for the future.

 A hero

Fabian, 25, is a trained brain surgeon working in Vienna’s largest hospital. The son of a good friend, I have known Fabian for many years, and he has always impressed me with his desire to be a positive force in society.

Recently, Fabian was featured as the face for the “Stay Home – Stay Healthy” campaign in Austria. Throughout the crisis, I have tried to check in with him most days to see how he is coping. As you can imagine his life has changed drastically and he’s working under a new pressure that I’m sure, like many of us, he didn’t have in his 2020 plan. It’s difficult to speak with him on the phone as he’s either in the hospital, commuting or simply too exhausted. Instead, we keep our exchanges to simple text messages. Regardless of the challenges, whenever I ask my usual question “how are you, 1-10?” – he replies with a simple, “10 – I am still healthy, and I can help”.

This reality is not unique to Fabian or Austria. Medical professionals across the globe have come together aligned behind a single purpose: save lives. What I find most amazing is that they follow this purpose knowing full well they are putting themselves at risk. Thank you, Fabian, and to all that are working to save lives.   

Increased togetherness

 One of my three hopes that I wrote about in The Great Resetting was ‘increased togetherness’. Fabian’s story is just one example of many where I believe we are seeing greater togetherness all around us. Research bodies and pharmaceutical companies are working together in ways never seen before to find a cure. Governments and businesses are pooling resources to create new solutions. Even at a social distance, my own neighbourhood – full of different backgrounds – is breaking down barriers and growing closer as a community looking after one other.

 There is so much to be positive about. And in a strange way, without the ability to travel, our world has become smaller. So small that we are starting to recognise the people nearest to us. The people that have been with us for years and yet we took for granted.

 There is, however, a disappointing trend that I have seen in the world of politics. With such high stakes and pressure, the political ‘blame game’ has started sooner than I anticipated. This is not helped by the behaviours within the media community. Although there are examples of excellence, I feel the media sector would benefit us all by reporting in a more balanced and objective manner.

 A more fair and just society

This is too early to call. Are we headed towards a more fair and just society? Time will tell. Although, I do see movements in the right direction. The discussion about how the world remerges from this crisis and rebuilds has been ignited. Many CEOs have taken symbolic acts of solidarity and authentic leadership. Many politicians, at a local level, seem to be speaking at eye level with their citizens and taking greater accountability. Some of the wealthiest entrepreneurs have also stepped up to support society including Bill Gates, Jack Dorsey (Square and Twitter) and Jack Ma (Alibaba).

If this momentum is maintained – and not everything is forgotten as soon as a cure is found – we have reason to be optimistic about the future. However, I want to stress one point: we all have a responsibility to remember the challenge, recall the pain and use it as energy to fuel our improvement. Too often, we have emerged from crises and moved on before embedding lessons learnt (...interesting read).

Better use of resources

 We’ve witnessed an immediate impact on our relationship with resources. I personally have noticed a greater appreciation of time and have enjoyed cooking my meals again. In a world where I have been forced to consume less, I have found a greater respect for it – seeking out the smaller pleasures in quality items. Many of us are feeling an increase of gratitude for the basics in life such as healthy food, clean water, steady electricity, and access to healthcare. I hope this gratitude helps societies reduce the previous levels of resource waste that aren’t beneficial for anyone. 

 A poignant realisation most of the world considering is the direct link between human and planetary health. Our sudden change in activity has also given us a glimpse at a cleaner world from better air quality to rivers flowing clear. However, we know the reasons for the sudden drop in pollution are not systematic and likely to be unsustainable when we get back to normal (whatever the ‘new normal’ looks like). My hope is that this glimpse propels the world to embrace the transition to a low-carbon world, faster.

 Final thoughts

We’re one month in but to me it feels much longer. We’ve learned so much and challenged our views of the world. After one month – there is hope. There is evidence that our ‘new normal’ will be an improvement on the past and that we will re-emerge as a better community. I’ve even been amazed at how little I’ve missed eating in restaurants and how I’ve re-kindled my passion for home cooking (spoiler: I’m no Raymond Blanc!).

To anyone that is affected directly or indirectly by COVID-19, my heart goes out to you. We will get through this, we will RESET, and we will come out of this stronger.

Helmut