The Great Re-Evaluation Told Us What We Already Knew: We Want More Freedom, Autonomy and Time
Many people have the so-called Great Resignation all wrong. More than anything else the last couple of years changed our thinking and has enabled us to act on previously felt, but repressed thoughts.
On a deep, visceral, and fundamental level the pandemic changed society and how we viewed our place in it. In a moment our idyllic, first-world problems faced an existential threat. We realized the fragility of life could be deeply transformed by strange forces beyond our control.
And, that profoundly changed us.
Many reassessed values, personal KPIs, and professional lives in a way we never did before. We circled the wagons and measured our lives. And we did not like what we saw. With a moment’s pause on the corporate hamster wheel we realized that long commutes, low pay, difficult bosses, toxic corporate cultures were no longer acceptable.
What’s Behind The Great Re-Evaluation?
The gap between our values and the lives we were living was too great and that pause enabled the Great Re-Evaluation of our lives. And the re-evaluation told us what we already knew: we wanted more freedom, autonomy, and time with our families and with ourselves. We wanted to be happy. We wanted control over things in our lives. And we were willing to eschew things that did not bring us closer to actualizing our true goals.
But why?
I think the pandemic forced us to focus on what was really important and not what we pretended was. The realization that the world as we knew it could end in a moment without our choosing empowered us to prioritize our happiness TODAY.
The thing is that desiring to live a better life is not about pay, commutes, or work environments. It is not about bosses, benefits, or bonuses.
It is about each of us as individuals, who we want to be, and how we live our lives. Reassessing our lives starts with our “why’s,” the deep passions and motivations that make us who we are. The pandemic helped a lot of people find themselves.
Prior to Covid, I started my own business. The world of self-employment was something I allowed fear to keep me from. My “why’s,” like many of yours, are simple. I want to be present in the lives of my family and want to provide for them. I want to help others and add value to society. In addition, I have a pathological need for freedom, autonomy, and control and that could only be quenched through self-employment.
More Control Through Franchise Ownership
As a franchise consultant, I hear similar sentiments from my candidates with increasing regularity. More of my candidates are choosing to leave jobs and start businesses. More believe, correctly, that the biggest risk in their lives is not starting a business but remaining unhappy at work. They recognize that their success is wholly based on their ability and are confident that a strong franchise model will enable them to replicate their success. They believe in themselves.
Covid, at least the initial fear we felt in the beginning, brought people face-to-face with their mortality in much the same way people experience midlife. It was an awakening, a grand re-assessment, and the associated understanding that what worked in the past does not work anymore. Goals change. Priorities are reordered.
We evolve and change because we need to self-actualize. There is a drive toward happiness. We cannot help ourselves since it is part of being human. The more challenging, dislocated society and the corporate world become, the more essential it is to live our true lives. People make decisions to restore control and a sense normalcy.
If you are feeling that it is time to make a change do not fight the urge. It is normal, natural, and healthy. The important thing is what you do with your re-evaluation!
