DECEMBER 2020: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD? THE YEAR IN REVIEW
N. Chineye Anako, MPH CHES is the incumbent President of NAHSE CT and currently works at Trinity Health of New England in Hartford, CT as the Regional Director Diversity and Inclusion..
A Year of Uncertainty, Reflection & Resilience
Imagine you could travel back in time to January 1, 2020, what would you tell yourself? What would you change? Would you tell yourself to take that vacation before March, stock up on toilet paper, invest in zoom, or hold on tight to the memories of what used to be? Unfortunately, time travel does not exist, and we are forced to reckon with all that has transpired in 2020. It is not lost upon me that this year has not only been an emotional one but a reflective one as well. So much has changed and so much was lost, yet, we choose to remain resilient and overcome the many challenges that laid ahead of us and continue to still do.
One of my goals this year was to read one book a month. Although Covid-19 usurped that goal somewhat, I did have the opportunity to read Switch: How To Change Things When Change Is Hard, by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Switch is a New York Times Bestseller that discusses how to change things, patterns, and behaviors when change is hard. The end of the book highlights twelve common problems that people encounter as they fight for change. They also provided some advice on how to overcome these problems. Below are two of the problems that stuck out to me the most and how they apply to the events of this year and my advice to overcome them.
Problem: “The environment has shifted, and we need to overcome our old patterns of behavior.”
Advice: Covid-19 brought about significant change that forced us to change our behavior and abandon our old patterns. As we witness virus cases across the country rise, I encourage you all to protect yourself and the community by practicing social/physical distance, wearing mask coverings when applicable, and washing and sanitizing your hands periodically. Our old pattern is powerful, but these new patterns will be much more rewarding.
Problem: “It’s just too much.”
Advice: The world bore witness to the unnecessary killings of Breonna Taylor, Sean Reed, Ahmuad Arbery, and George Floyd at the hands of police officers or white vigilantes. This shone a spotlight once again on the racial injustices in our country. The United States, and the world at large, finally had to address its fraught history of inequality, systemic oppression, and anti-Black racism. It truly was, is, and always will be too much but we must not use this as an excuse to give up. Chip and Dan state that progress doesn’t always come easy and they’re right. We have been fighting for 400+ years and will continue until we see effective change.
The time to make a change is now. Do it before 2021.
References
· Heath, C., & Heath, D. (2010). Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard. New York, NY: Random House.