You Don’t Have to Come Out of This a Better Version of Yourself

The pressure and privilege of being productive during a crisis

Photo by Ava Sol on Unsplash

Right now, it’s popular to say the latest crisis is going to make us better. And while we clearly won’t benefit from allowing ourselves to freak out and binge on the news all day, we need to give ourselves a break. We need to let our emotions out—not just the positive ones.

We need to give other people a break, too.

Let’s stop calling everyone lazy because they can’t convince themselves to reboot their lives just yet.

Give them time.

Millions of people just lost their jobs, along with a good chunk of their hopes and dreams. You don’t bounce back from that. It takes a while. You’re allowed to drink some wine and stare at a screen.

Parents are struggling right now, just like anyone who takes care of another human being. It takes everything we’ve got. Sir Isaac Newton invented calculus during the London plague of 1655. Good for him. He didn’t have a lonely 2-year old following him around every waking minute. Once a day, I want to lock myself in the bathroom and scream.

But I don’t.

Later, I feel better and manage to get some stuff done.