Reinvention and The Function of Humankind

“The universe is change; our life is what our thoughts make it.”

-Marcus Aurelius

All these weeks into a global pandemic and the pot of life is simmering with feelings of excitement and hope. On one end, because it seems we finally have a chokehold on the virus for the moment – in Australia at least. The world seems to be getting its bearings, no longer unprepared for challenges ahead. And on the other end, because there is so much innovation and opportunity calling out to us, drawing us in like the smell of freshly baked banana bread.

On a personal level, I saw my parents yesterday for the first time in almost two months. And that was glorious. 

On a more zoomed out level, it’s a beautiful time. Tabula Rasa at its finest: A blank slate from which we can reinvent our businesses and ourselves.

I have written before of the gratitude explosion that seemed to come with Covid-19. In addition to that, though, the forced halt means we have a time to look into our lives from the outside: What we focus on, how we run our business, where our dreams and passions really lay.

Many ancient philosophers believed that as humans, our function or unique role in the world is to use our rationality (Aristotle) or to live in accordance with nature (Stoics like Marcus Aurelius). For Aristotle, all animals and instruments have a special thing that they do. For most animals, they come instinctively, like the spider that weaves webs, the ants that build mounds, and the ibis that plays in bins. For humans, Aristotle says we must use our unique thing – rationality – to pursue excellence; whether that’s in medicine or artistry, plumbing or the law, philosophy or as a parent. We all take different paths but it is our species’ ultimate role in the world to develop excellence in whatever path that is.

For Marcus Aurelius and the other Stoics, we must live in a way where we don’t resist nature, and we focus on what we can control. So too, does Marcus Aurelius describe our work in life as connected to our function as a human race – he talks about how one must get up and go to work, even if you feel like sleeping in, because just as the bees and spiders and ants and other beings go out and fulfil their function we must do it too. And our function is not merely to sleep or mosey around. It requires us to do.

Many ancient philosophers would argue that fulfilling our function as humans like this is an imperative part of that all-elusive happiness we seek in life.

And now, it’s a great time of reflection for those of us who were perhaps acting like a bee, waking up and operating on autopilot to create honey. Because maybe you were operating on autopilot in a negative way – you were doing something because it was what you were used to doing, and you weren’t particularly thoughtful or intentional about it.

The silver lining of a forced lockdown, a forced slow-down, a forced transition, is that we have an opportunity to start from the start again.

As businesses, we can consider: How are we serving people?

Are we solving their problems in the best way we can?

Is there a way we can do this better?

Is there something more pressing that we can shift our focus towards?

How can we empower our employees more?

An analysis of the very basics – process, product, positioning – can be incredibly valuable for small businesses right now.

All the things we’ve flagged as good ideas that would be perfect except that they would just be such. Big. Changes. can now be revisited. Which overheads actually matter? What kind of flexible working policies would still get us results? What parts of our process existed only because… that’s how it has always been done? Which parts of the business weren’t being paid enough attention before? Why do we still use this technology that is 80 years old when there are much better ways available?

Where can we innovate?

As individuals, we can rethink: What makes me happy? What’s important?

Is what I’m doing fulfilling? Is this where my passion is?

Am I in the right spot with my career?

Or was I operating on autopilot and I forgot that I had the power to control the wheel all along?

What would I change, if I were to start again?

If you have more time now, you can start to read in different areas. Challenge yourself to think more widely than you have before.

When Aristotle talks about the development of excellences, he does so with reference to habits. If not for habits, people would be born good at something or bad at something, and we would all simply pursue what we were good at. There would be no need then, he says, for teachers and mentors, because fate would already be written.

Of course, we know life is not like that. Things are not set in stone. For example, we all know one kid from school who went from trying to get out of P.E to being really into fitness later in life (I am still waiting for this to happen to me), and we all know people who’ve thrived by moving their career into a completely different direction. Where we end up is not clear cut. It’s up to us.

The excellence we want in any aspect of our lives – moral excellence, intellectual excellence, the kind of excellence you acquire in any field or role – it comes from our choices. Our habits. 

The liberating thing about that is that to a large extent we create them. Our daily habits and thoughts create our larger outcomes and, eventually, define who we are as individuals. And now would be the time, I think, to consider what our current habits say about us.

I have written before about how valuable I have found reflection in this Quarantine Chrysalis. But now, as we seem to be capturing a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel, we can move to the next step which is execution. What am I going to change, as a result of all this reflecting? What new habits can I put into practice now?

History rarely forces us to stop and think. Yes, this time is underlined by tragedy, but for those who are lucky enough to have relative safety and the basics, we have the chance to reinvent. To decide who we are going to be after this pandemic. I have no doubt that many people will change their paths completely. Others might sink more deeply into the one they have chosen, with a certainty they didn’t have before.

It’s times of chaos that produce revolutions, creative brilliance, business innovation, and change. This is when we really evaluate how we’re doing when it comes to fulfilling our function as human beings, developing excellence, pursuing happiness. And now it’s time to decide what our next steps will be. 

This global chapter undeniably marks the end of a chapter in the world that we know. Luckily, that means we’re on the verge of starting a new one.