Constrained Growth 2.0

Todayamp8217s constraints on our physical movements can provide the opportunity to enlarge our mental and emotional capabilities to such an extent that it may lead to a great reinventionEmotionally the crucible of change we are in can make us feel differently about our lives our connectionsamp160and our workMentally the stress in the foundry of uncertainty will twist our thinking in one or more ways as we seek to make sense of what has happened and plans for when the constraints liftIn many ways it will make us appreciate what we took for grantedIn others as we forgo certain behaviors and have the time to ponder and ruminate on our previous days we may question why we did certain thingsWe will question many aspects of our lives and we will make resolutionsEvery one of us will adapt evolveamp160and meld different versions of ourselves and interact with a world of people and institutions that are differentWe may have gone into this crisis as MSDOS and focused on the narrow corridors of ourselves but if we spend the next few weeks correctlyamp160we could come out as Windows 10 with expanded horizons amp8230Over a year laterThe pandemic is still with us and it is causing great devastation in India Many areas of Japan are back in an emergency lockdown with the Olympics only a few weeks away However in the US with significant portions of the population vaccinated and an easing of the need to wear a mask life will likely return to familiar routinesAs the constraints ease and the limits are removed will we return to the way we wereEvery individual will be emerging from the past year in different ways Over half a million people in the United States who were lost to COVIDamp160will not be here to register these days The tens of millions who were connected to them will always see a gap a shadow and an empty chair which was previously occupied Others among us may have lost jobs or needed to move back home or move away to a different place Relationships have been strengthened and sundered Rituals were postponed delayedamp160or virtually held All these have made their mark and left their invisible tattoosLimits can lead to growthMany have found growth amidst the constraints and limitsIn theamp160ordinaryamp160Inamp160lessamp160Inamp160enoughamp160Inamp160endingsOrdinaryThere is a newly found appreciation for the ritual of the ordinary dayWe might have pined for the extraordinary the special and the memorable eighteen months agoBut as we sat socially distanced maskedamp160and locked down the little habits movements and freedoms of every day loomed largeSometimes one does know what one has until one loses itHappiness is not often in the one day in the future or getting promoted to the right level at work or when the right quotnumberquotamp160is reachedIt is in the ordinary of good health relationshipsamp160and freedomThe extraordinariness of quoteveryday ordinaryquotamp160is what is special to manyLessAll we may need is lessFor many people the tragedy of COVID19 has been a lack of food shelter jobs moneyamp160and health care For many others especially people with white collar jobs that can be done remotely we are realizing that except for space we could do with lessamp160How many of the things you have or the past harried routines or frenetic travel are you missingAll the frenzy of movement and much more remind us of William Wordsworthamp8217s lines quotThe world is too much with us late and soon Getting and spending we lay waste our powers quotMany people are using this time to reconsider their lives and many are discovering thatamp160all they need is lessamp160And if one needs less it opens a world of options since we may be able to pursue the dream our previous lifestyle may have priced us out ofEnoughJack Brennan the CEO of Vanguard has a new book out called amp8220Straight Talking on Investingamp8221 in which he quotes the journalist Jason Zweig from a January 2000 Money magazine columnamp160amp8220I once interviewed dozens of residents in Boca Raton one of Florida39s richest retirement communities Amid the elegant stucco homes the manicured lawns the swaying palm trees the sun and the sea breezes I asked these folks mostly in their 7039s if they39d beaten the market over the course of their investing lifetimes Some said yes some said no Then one man said quotWho cares All I know is my investments earned enough for me to end up in BocaquotThe moral of this story is threefolda What are our goals in lifeb There is a need for finish lines Comparison is the thief of joy Continuous benchmarking is a recipe for always coming up short Living in the minds of other people might leave us empty Are we happy with what we have when we have them or only when we can show others that we have themc Enough The most satisfied people recognize the power of enough Living in a fervor of continuous measurement means you live by the scoreboard and we stop focusing on the ballLife is the ball and not the scorecardEndingsFranz Kafka wroteamp160amp8220The meaning of life is that it stopsamp8221In the future the ritual of the ordinary day will be special just as we have come to realize after months of a new way of living that the simple pleasures of free movement meeting friends sitting in a crowded baramp160and watching a sports game were so specialLife does not have to be lived forward and understood backward if we decide to pay attentionWe can use the lessons of 2020 to be aware of the fading moments of nowLook around you Watch the special quality of light or listen to the hiss of the air duct Treasure the conversations and even the repetition and lack of differentiation of day after dayBecause one day it will not be soSo as we get back to the way it was maybe the year of constrained living with anxiety fear and uncertainty has grown all of us in ways that show that limits can free us and concentrate the mind and heart on what mattersPhotos by Rishad TobaccowalaClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Constrained Growth 2.0

Author

Publish date

Channel

Rishad Tobaccowala

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

Constrained Growth 2.0

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Rishad Tobaccowala

TAGS:

Cookies