With the stay at home directive seemingly working here in Australia, I am optimistic about a return to some form of normality in the not too distant future.
I don’t believe we’ll be back on International Flights anytime soon but I am hopeful that we’ll be allowed out of our houses for non-essential purposes once again and have the chance to travel domestically at least.
I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how this whole Coronavirus pandemic will affect the way I live my life after it passes. So I started writing a list of what I wanted to do differently in the future, how I want to turn this terrible period into a positive and better myself and my life after it’s over, and I wanted to share those thoughts with you to maybe help you make some similar positive decisions of your own.
So here are the 5 key things I want to do differently after we’re allowed back out again.
1, Stop chasing likes
I spend a large part of my day working on my YouTube and Social Media content. It’s fast becoming my “full time job” outside of technology and running businesses which got me to this stage of my life. I love social media and what you can do with it, and love to share experiences and motivating stories through social media, I only want to continue that in the future. But I want to do it for different reasons. Not to chase the short lived high of seeing how many people liked a post I put up, not to repeatedly refresh an analytics page so I can watch content consumption in real time, and not to feel bad if a video I loved isn’t being “viewed” as much as I expected.
I want to remember that I am privileged to be able to produce content that will help and entertain others whilst living a very happy life myself, however many people that may be. And if I’m achieving that then I’ve already won. Screw the numbers.
2, Stop asking for permission
I’ve had a tendancy to ask for permission when trying new things, especially new content genres or covering subjects slightly outside of my “niche”. I’ve frequently second guessed myself and psyched myself out of trying something new in case “YouTube penalises me” or “people unsubscribe because it’s not relevant”.
I’ve posted polls on social media saying “I’m thinking of doing X or trying Y, what do you guys think?” rather than trusting myself and feeling confident to experiment creatively. Whilst I still want to include you in my thinking and get your input into what you would enjoy or find useful, I also don’t want to wait for permission before trying new things.
Kind of goes back to point one really. I think it all comes down to confidence in yourself. If you want to create something new but you’re not sure how it’s going to resonate, the only way to know for sure is to try it.
And if at the end of the day something is a complete failure at least I can learn from that. Success comes from struggle.
3, Slow down, look up
Especially when travelling I’ve been guilty in the past of going somewhere or doing something to film it, tick it off the list, and then move on. I’m starting to really love the concept of slow travel, slowing down to properly absorb what’s happening around you, and truly see and experience something.
I love filming and sharing my experiences and will continue to do that, it’s my main creative outlet and I produce content that I’m really proud of. But I also want to stop and enjoy the moment especially with the people I’m travelling with, I want to be able to do both – film it AND experience it! So I think the best way for me to do that is to simply slow down.
If I take longer over experiences, and don’t try and do too much, I can create content AND experience it properly myself. It’s a basic principle of business I use all the time – quality over quantity. Fewer, bigger, things.
4, Interact with people more
For someone who isn’t the most social person (I really am no good at parties, or big social events with people I don’t know… even with people I do know TBH), being forced into communicating with friends and family through video or text chats has actually been really enjoyable. I’ve spoken to my family in the UK more over the last 4 weeks than I think I ever have. I want to keep that going once we’re back out again, checking in with friends more often, being happy to stop just to talk with someone (whether I know them or not) for the sake of social interaction.
I’m bad with thinking that unless a conversation has an objective that it’s pointless. I want to get better at considering the social interaction to BE the point.
5, Try and connect with the planet more
As a pilot and traveller I already have a love affair with this planet, but I want to get better at appreciating and strengthening that connection in the future. Enjoying simple things that connect me with our environment like going on more walks and runs, heading to the beach on warm Summer evenings, getting into the ocean, getting away from the cities and flying into the Outback, stopping to watch the sun setting.
I think the more I can connect with and experience this planet for all the beauty it has to offer, and share that with others. the more we’ll all want to find ways to look after it in the long term, which is something we’re all going to need to get better at.
Those are my thoughts, I’d love to hear some of yours. How are you hoping your post-Coronavirus self will be different from your old one?
Stef