Who’s idea was 2021? To whom should I complain about the events we have collectively endured this year? I’d like to give them a piece of my mind, whoever they are.
Of course, many amazing new things have emerged from the complexity of the past 20+ months. It seems clear that disruption and uncertainty allow some old patterns to be discarded and new pathways to emerge. What seemed impossible two years ago – such as working from home – now seems quite normal.
I have experienced the generative power of disruption myself in a surprising way this year, as I recently wrote about on Linked In. Frustration with COVID politics inspired a brand new political party, and with that has come some important lessons. You can read about my educational journey into national politics .
Disruption allows innovation, yet this tendency is countered by our willingness to slide back into comfortably familiar patterns. Business as usual is very alluring. After all, who hasn’t found themselves wishing for life to “get back to normal” this year? Yes, ‘normal’ feels safe and it can be difficult to resist doing things the way we’ve always done them, even when the rationale is no longer there.
I wrote about the siren call of business as usual earlier this year. At the end of 2021 it seems a good time to revisit that post .