Patrick Mosher, a consultant turning 60, spent his pandemic year logging 442 hours of virtual calls with friends and colleagues while doing home improvements and playing nightly games with his wife. He reframes lockdown as a year of unexpected connection, not loss, and challenges you to write your own headline for what you actually gained.
Chapters
At the end of every year, I start my annual planning process by reviewing the past year to make a list of accomplishments. High performers don't often celebrate accomplishments on a day-to-day or week-to-week basis. They knock down barriers and move on to the next challenge, and I'm no exception. Best to begin a planning process with gratitude in your heart, wouldn't you say? So my first Wisdom for Humanity challenge for you is to make a list of accomplishments for the past year. As a consultant for over 30 years, my annual list of accomplishments usually included hard-won successes on my clients' most strategic transformation projects. And that lifestyle included working with amazing teams and traveling to interesting and exotic places all over the world. Turkey, South Africa, Peru, Dublin, Venezuela, Singapore, Peru, Dubai, and Winnipeg. And due to the pandemic, this year was very different. As I looked to the normal places for accomplishments, I drew a blank. No big consulting projects, no travel to sacred places for my annual wisdom council, no big family gatherings. We'd planned a big gathering for my 60th birthday, and instead we celebrated at home. With 3 surprises. A Zoom call celebration with my Purdue counselor buddies, some of whom I hadn't seen in over 30 years. A Zoom call with my family, opening gifts on camera in front of the computer. And our neighborhood coming out and singing me happy birthday, safely and socially distanced, in our front yard, complete with fireworks. Reflecting on my 60th birthday, I started to reframe the list of accomplishments for the year. In March, we started a pretty strict self-quarantine. I'm considered high risk with my cardiac obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, and I've walked into only 3 commercial buildings since this whole thing started. As a result, We spent much more time at home. Our yard is as beautiful as ever. One day when we were walking in the backyard, I looked at the gardens and exclaimed, "This is our pandemic garden!" We finally cleaned out the garage and mopped the floor. Geez, I haven't done that in years! And we cleared out a bunch of old furniture and old technology. Anyone need a TiVo Premiere. We made a big stack of stuff in the basement to sell or give away. And I haven't spent this much time at home since, well, since I was 18. Wow. We have more space in our home and we feel more connected in our home than ever before. And early on in the pandemic, my wife and I decided to cut way back on our television, Netflix, and Amazon Prime shows. Instead, we began game night. We love to play games and have a whole stack in the basement. We brought some of them upstairs and laid them out on the table. Almost every night we pull out a different game and play. We love Scrabble, Rummikub— you can see how old this box is— we play Racko, which is an old family favorite of mine growing up, and an occasional game of Monopoly. However, we love Yahtzee. There's nothing like the endorphin rush of rolling a Yahtzee and scoring 50 points. Yeah, that wasn't a Yahtzee. But anyway, big cheers and high fives. And I've been on more Zoom calls, team calls, GoToMeeting and WebEx calls than I can ever remember. I hear people say they're Zoomified, like being zombified. Well, that's not my mindset at all. This year I spent 442 hours on one-on-one calls with friends, colleagues, clients, and prospects. Whenever did I have the opportunity to have that much personal contact with the people I love and cherish, some of whom I haven't spoken to in over 40 years? And yes, that is 442 hours. I have a spreadsheet and I keep track. Well, it's been a strange year. My accomplishments are much more subtle. Let's see. I've connected with my home like never before. I've connected with friends and colleagues from all over the world like never before. And most important, I'm connecting with my wife like never before. I'd say those are all amazing accomplishments, so let's celebrate! And after reflecting on my accomplishments for the year, I draft a headline. In my mind's eye, I imagine my great-great-grandchildren reading through the headlines of my life. My 2020 headline will read, "Social distance creates connection like never before." So there's your Wisdom for Humanity second challenge. Draft your 2020 headline. What new routines and new normal will you retain when the pandemic subsides? For me, it's game night with my wife.
