If there’s one thing I noticed about our shelter-in-place time, it’s that the complaints did absolutely nothing about it. Complaining about the lack of work did not magically produce more work, the same goes for the lack of income. Complaining about the ordeal (challenge) of homeschooling (especially if more than one child was involved) did not make it any less onerous. Complaining about the lack of TP did not cause it to grow on trees. In fact, all he complained about was annoying whoever was around to hear him, and it didn’t make you much happier either.
More importantly, complaining about the possibility of catching the virus didn’t make it any less likely, and if you did, complaining didn’t make it go away any faster either.
Problem solving is the obvious answer to all of our complaints. Seeking answers, resources, help in any situation is always the way.
One of the most fascinating solutions that many of us found for our self-isolation was Zoom. A phenomenal invention that most people had never heard of before the coronavirus. After all, we had FaceTime and Skype, weren’t they enough? However, Zoom has become the option for non-face-to-face meetings, meetings and simply chats.
Which made me wonder, how did Zoom come to be in the first place? Love. I’m not talking about loving the planet and everyone on it, I’m actually talking about the more common variety of boy meets girl (or boy meets boy/girl meets girl, take your pick). the one on one type.
Eric S. Yuan, founder and CEO of Zoom, as a freshman at a university in China, had to take a ten-hour train ride to visit his girlfriend, now his wife, and although he is traveling on that train with regularly (love will do it for you), he really hated traveling and tried to imagine other ways he could meet his girlfriend, without traveling. Some 15 years later, he was finally able to develop the virtual platform he had dreamed of for so long. Zoom. Which is what has allowed us to connect with those we love, so many years later.
If Eric Yuan could do it, why not us? Why can’t each of us take what we complain about the most and turn our complaining energy to better use, namely problem solving? Complaining about my inability to attend the ballroom dance lessons so dear to my competitive ballroom-dancer heart wasn’t/didn’t get the COVID restrictions lifted any faster, and god knows ballroom is one of those close up. and-personal sports are probably last on the list of allowed activities.
Once I stopped complaining, I decided to train myself to dance some new patterns and improve my basic technique one painstakingly slow day at a time. Is working. No, it’s not what I’d like in the long run, but at least I feel like I’m being proactive and productive by practicing in my kitchen, moving towards my ballroom goals. And when I point, I’m reminded of Eric Yuan and how he developed Zoom.
What is it that you love to do that you can’t given our current circumstances? Or can’t do everything you’d like? Or in the way you would like to do it? Put your excellent creative mind to use (yes, you have one) and figure out some way to work on anything within the confines of our current experience. It’s so much better for your heart, mind, and soul than inflicting your moaning and moaning on everyone, including yourself.