We’re not vaccinated but it’s clear we are on a glide path to exit the pandemic.
March 13, 2020 is the day we pulled out kids out of school and battened down the hatches for a few weeks.
March 13, 2021, we’re going to bake a cake and eat ice cream.
Things that surprised me:
1/. We sure didn’t pull together as a nation. We did pull together as Coloradans. I really appreciate the school, city, county and state leadership (thank you to my civic-minded friends who read my stuff). Our system worked.
2/. Being scared of Amazon packages.
3/. Shopping for shotguns (last April) when young men were roaming our neighborhood trying to get into occupied houses in broad daylight.
5/. How well simple actions work. A truism for health is “focus on reducing smoking.” Before the pandemic, I was skeptical of the role of basic hygiene. No more. This has been my healthiest 12 months since before I had kids (2008) – all due to masks, hand washing and social distancing.
6/. No financial impact – in a year where my net earned income went to zero.
7/. The power of routine. It was a HUGE pain to get ourselves into a series of useful habits. Now they run on autopilot. Big gains happen during crisis management.
8/. I kinda knew this final one from investing… take pain early. Hit yourself very hard when the setback comes. Human systems adapt very quickly to pain. I always underestimate human resilience. This was a key Federal mistake both now, and with 9/11. Politicians have an incentive to avoid pain => pain works to drive change.
Takeaways:
- Embrace my difficulties.
- Be seen to support measures that benefit the collective.
- Take pain early and have faith you’ll adapt.
- Routine and discipline are a source of deep comfort in turbulent times.
- Simple actions work. Stay focused on core competencies.
Ditch the habit of staying tuned to the next-big-crisis.
We still have work to do – particularly with regard to equal justice under law.
Enjoy 2021
Feel The Byrn 
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