How The Pandemic Affected My Life and Work

In these challenging times, here are my top five lessons learnt (full thought piece available on sergeyyoung.com)

1. Our civilization is more fragile than we think

Amongst rapid technological breakthroughs and global economies with centuries in the making, and the comfort of our daily routines, it’s surprising how fragile our civilization really is. The service industry came to a halt. Travel plans got cancelled. Major events were suspended until further notice. And it all happened practically overnight

Takeaway: treat the crisis as an opportunity to help you build your tolerance to uncertainty. Some of life’s best moments—such as going after a dream job or choosing to become a parent—often start with going through doubt and indecision and coming out on the other side

2. Prepare for the unknowns

With past recessions typically caused by stock market crashes, high-interest rates, and falling house prices, it was completely unexpected that a novel viral threat would hit the global economy as hard (if not harder) as the Global Financial Crisis in 2008

Takeaway: create a practical risk map for your business or personal finances that would survive not only threats that are foreseeable—but also the ‘known unknowns’

3. We are learning what matters the most

In the light of devastating deaths due to COVID-19, we are reminded that health is our true wealth. As the virus threatens layoffs and bankruptcies, we are gaining renewed appreciation for our jobs as important sources of happiness and fulfillment, not just income

Takeaway: Appreciate all the people and things in your life, even those you may be taking for granted

4. We are rediscovering ourselves

We are born with 24 hours in the day—but how much time do we spend doing what we truly want? How do we deal with more time to ourselves with our limited 8-second attention spans (less than a goldfish)? This is the first global experiment of its kind, which will reinvent the way we work, socialize, and spend free time.

Takeaway: use this once-in-a-life time opportunity for personal growth to emerge into the real world with a better understanding of who you are

5. Mother Nature is speaking to us

For decades, we abused the environment. Plastic pollution, resource depletion, water contamination are all embarrassing examples of how we treat Mother Nature. So it’s about time she fought back and shut us down.

Takeaway: if Greta Thunberg wasn’t enough of a wake-up call—this epidemic certainly is. Treat Mother Nature with kindness, and it will do the same for us

Final thoughts: we are climbing our personal Everest Did you know that chances of dying while climbing Mount Everest and from coronavirus in Wuhan are about the same? Lessons learnt are similar, too. Safety is top priority. Preparation is key to survival. How well we learn these lessons and what we do with them thereafter – is up to us. So don’t give up and use these challenging times to become stronger, better, tougher!

Sergey Young, Founder of Longevity Vision Fund; Development Sponsor of Age Reversal XPRIZE