As we see the light at the end of the COVID tunnel in the U.S. and many other countries, a new phase of collective experience has kicked in: anticipation. It’s spring. The world is literally opening up again. Demand for airline tickets is surging. With places to go and people to see, we’re making big plans and making up for lost time.

The pandemic has been a time of unspeakable loss and tragedy. At the same time, it’s also been a catalyst, forcing us to examine our lives, our priorities, and our ways of living and working. We’ve spent more than a year looking inward, thinking about what we want to take with us and what we want to leave behind. And if we’re going to make the most of this moment, we need to accompany our big plans with small steps. It’s those small steps that will help us bring forward the wisdom we’ve accumulated this past year and build new habits that help us create better lives and a better world than the one we knew pre-COVID.

Because while we may have a knee-jerk, almost childlike longing for “the way things were,” we know we are never going back—and that’s a good thing. As we make our way into this next uncertain chapter, we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to apply the lessons of our individual and collective experience. And it will be the small steps, more than the big sweeping vows and pledges, that help us navigate the transition. 

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