Testing times makes us better!

Breaking the pattern of all the fear floating around, let's try and see if these testing times can be an opportunity used by the planet's most evolved species to make world a better place to live. I understand that our species have not been as wise in taking care of the nature in the past as much as we all would have collectively liked, but signs are pointing in the right direction to believe that we can do it now.

Times of stress are definitely the times for change. A renowned philosopher Rabi Dr. Abraham Twerski narrates this nicely in the video.

Learning from how times of stress are times to grow better, I believe that we will become better post COVID-19.

1. People are going to learn better ways to live & prioritize (in the 'Now')

With all the lockdowns and living within homes without restaurants, gyms, theaters, clubs & cars, most blessed people are definitely realizing that we don't really need much more than what we already have in order to live well. And what we really need exists within our homes. The zen thinking is inspired by the world coming to a standstill & the collective realization that nothing is really that urgent. That missed flight, the rush hour traffic frustrations, the lost projects - are nothing but just points in time that might not matter as the now passes by. Focusing on your own *breath* - quite literally in this case :) ~ awareness of the *Now*. Prioritization of family & love over other matters. The sheer irrelevance of owning a Model X; having the title Y; earning the salary Z in order to live well has never been realized by the world as collectively; and with as much intensity, as now, than ever before.

Smarter people will learn to live more mindfully than ever before.

2. Organizations are learning 'better ways to work'

One thing that is changing is super high acceptance of WFH (Work from Home) for industries & roles where it's possible and also for where its not possible. Technology of today is very supportive of such work environments. There is a silver lining on every cloud (pun intended). Cloud has been a great equalizer for businesses. And businesses are realizing during the times of stress, that it's possible for more roles than it was ever imagined in the past. The interesting part is that 'Home' can be 'Anywhere'. Work from Anywhere (WFA) will continue to rise. There will always be a need for travel as human connect is how businesses work, but businesses are also realizing that the blatant overuse of in-person meetings was a sheer waste of time. And the silver lining is that smart businesses are definitely going to continue with the current trend of higher efficiencies beyond COVID-19.

Smarter businesses will learn to work with more efficiencies than ever before.

On the other hand, let's not forget that inefficiency remains the largest employer on the planet. And we need to find a way to keep people paid if inefficiencies start reducing even before Automation & AI deepens its adoption. And solution for that is emerging as per the silver lining # 3 below.

3. Communities & nations are learning better ways to care for nature & people

Times of stress are great unifiers. When there is a collective world threat, the world comes together to solve for it. And we are already seeing the world coming together in such a powerful way - at all levels ~ Individuals -> Businesses Communities/Nations. People who have gone extra miles to not pay *taxes* are coming forward to contribute voluntarily. Execs who have been known for cut throat competition, are taking pay cuts voluntarily. As WFA gains traction, concentration of downtown focused business districts will be a thing of the past. Traffic peak times due to concentration of business districts, contributing to unnecessary fuel + time wastage will continue to improve. Company's willingness to go above and beyond the basic business objectives to contribute to the benefit of the society: Desire to help improve the wellness not just for the employees, but for communities at large. Communities & nations at large realizing we have to be more respectful of the nature ~ other species & planet in general. I am hopeful that world will start caring for the planet & animals a bit more. I truly believe that the world is definitely going to emerge as a better place in many ways we haven't imagined.

Smarter nations will care for living better with nature more than ever before.

Overall, this is an unprecedented time for the humanity. The world is falling apart with lockdowns all over, fear spread at homes & ever increasing # of positive cases (663,740 as of when this is being published). However, being a super optimist that I am, it reminds me of the Oscar winner Mark Rylance scene below, which we can all get inspired by during such testing times.

The collective worry of the world is not helping, but further increasing the stress. And we need to start doing something to help the community however we can - by staying indoors, being responsible, helping the needy. But most importantly, by tilting the collective wisdom towards being positive in the belief that "all is going to be well soon".

And improving the collective wisdom with the belief that we will surely sail through these difficult times to arrive at a much better world.

Here's to wishing all of us a better tomorrow from Searce Inc.

Hardik Parekh is the Founder CEO of Searce. Searce is a specialized Cloud systems integrator & a business transformation company that leverages Cloud, Data, AI & ML to help businesses identify better ways of doing things.