Today—an unassuming winter Monday—is the day we can finally say we made it.
2020 is in the past. Today is the tomorrow we’ve been waiting for. As we return to work, bleary-eyed and braced for re-entry, there’s optimism in the crisp January air.
Yes, there are still plenty of challenges to overcome. But now, we’re experienced dragon slayers. Afterall, look at what we humans were able to accomplish last year. We learned to work together while apart. We shined new light on age-old racial injustices. We (well, some smart people anyway) invented a vaccine for a deadly virus in a matter of months. Our fortitude and resilience were tested daily. Some days were better than others, but we got through it.
Our January 2, 2020 selves would never believe we were capable of any of these things. But we were.
And we can do it again. If we could innovate our way through the last year, what can’t we figure out? From this day forward, we can tap into a whole new level of possibility-seeking that isn’t encumbered by “what’s realistic” because now we know “realistic” is relative.
Last year forced each of us to think about what really matters—in our businesses and in our lives. So, we’re starting this year with a freshly updated set of ideals and values. That big reset is a big opportunity.
We are ready. 2020 was exhausting, but we have an enormous amount of pent-up energy to spend. We’re ready to hug our friends. Ready to appreciate things we used to take for granted. Ready to put our newfound resilience to work—reinventing ourselves, building better businesses, and strengthening our communities.
Today—the first workday of 2021—isn’t about the end of an awful ordeal. It’s the beginning of a new era of possibility.
Lisa Brezonik is CEO at Salo, a talent company focused on designing the workplace of the future. We match vetted senior professionals in HR, finance, and accounting with organizations that need contingent or permanent help.
Lisa Brezonik
CEO
