Remaining Optimistic
In April 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was just starting to unravel, we were curious about how Canadians thought businesses would be impacted. We polled over 2,000 CPAs and asked them when they thought their business activities at work would return to “normal.” I was a bit surprised that two thirds of the respondents thought that things would be back to normal in just 5 months, by September 2020. In an unprecedented situation like the pandemic, even CPAs (some say we tend to be a conservative bunch) were hopeful that life would be back to normal by the start of the new school year. Well, here we are exactly 12 months later, with COVID still very much a part of our lives. The pandemic is as rampant as ever, and we’re still in the thick of the crisis.
This reminds me of an Economic Update session I attended shortly after the 2008 financial crisis. The speaker, a highly experienced economist, was forecasting reduced business volumes and a massive global downturn. Even then, during the breakout groups, I heard every single person say that they expected increased sales in the next year. I was amazed at the optimism in the room, despite the economist’s forecasts.
I’ve now come to realize something really fundamental about human nature – humans are inherently optimistic. This helps us to cope and survive during rough times. Even if we have no idea how things will pan out, most of us hang on to the hope that the storm will be over soon.
I recently came across an interesting quote by Seth Godin, an entrepreneur, speaker and best-selling author of titles like The Dip, Linchpin and Purple Cow. He says, “Optimism is the most important human trait, because it allows us to evolve our ideas, to improve our situation, and to hope for a better tomorrow.” Like him, I believe it’s this quality of ours that keeps us going, even in the most challenging situations.
So I invite you all to think about how you maintain your optimism and whether it helps you cope. Even if 67% of our respondents were wrong about when the pandemic would be over, I hope that the optimism helped them maintain a positive outlook and carry on with their lives as best as they could. I urge you to cultivate this optimism and use it to your advantage. Do your best to roll with the punches, adapt to the evolving circumstances, and never lose hope.
By Arun Mathur, FCPA, FCA, LPA
May 3, 2021