Facing the Uncertainty of the Covid-19 Pandemic as an Engineer
Which perspective do we think of more frequently that good things will happen or vice versa? Currently, there is much uncertainty happening due to the pandemic that is hitting humankind. This pandemic is in the form of the covid 19 viruses. This pandemic has affected various aspects of our life, especially in the economic and health sectors. Maybe right now, we are worried about losing our jobs, not being able to pay for vehicle installments or other things, or even being exposed to the covid-19 viruses. Does that mean our lives have ended? Should we give up this time? It should be realized that uncertainty happens to everyone, but not everyone can react properly. Some responded with optimism, but not a few turned into pessimists. Optimists believe that everything will go well, even if we feel afraid, envy, or despair.
Being optimistic amidst of uncertainty
Feelings of fear, despair, envy, and anxiety tend to come from our working environment. This statement is not surprising because more than a third of our time is spent on working. Based on research published by Leadership IQ, out of 11,308 employees surveyed about their job, it was found that only 13% of employees had high levels of optimism, and 33% of them had low and moderate levels of optimism. Leadership IQ founded by Mark Murphy, used data and research to analyze leader and employee behavior. The studies this firm does found that people who have a great job are good, but if they think their work is interesting and important to do, it will give them a higher level of optimism. Of course, this study follows human nature itself; humans will feel their self-esteem increases if they feel that what they do is important. People with low self-esteem have little hope, whether it’s for their future or their job. Another study conducted by this firm stated a high correlation between optimism and employee happiness while working. The more optimistic someone is, the happier they will be at work. They see that work is not a burden. It was also found that employees with a high level of optimism were easier to work with.
An optimist is a form of the active word, meaning that optimism must be practiced, not imagined. The good news is that being optimistic will not eliminate the bad things that will happen to you. Optimism will not prevent you from losing your job; optimism will not replace you by paying vehicle installments; optimism cannot be used as a vaccine to avoid the Covid-19 virus. If so, what is the importance of being optimistic today? And how can you adopt an optimistic attitude? You can answer this in your heart while thinking about your actions throughout the day, starting from waking up. What’s the first thing you look for when you wake up? Open your phone to check work emails and news on social media? Or first, pray and fill an empty glass with drinking water?
This does not mean that work and news on social media are not important, but how we manage our time makes it important. You can give your time in the morning and evening to open social media; this trick is considered summarizing events throughout the day. You can read the news, or if you don’t like reading, you can open YouTube. I often listen to the news on YouTube while resting at night, then start looking at work again to make sure I prepare for tomorrow’s work. Be careful with every piece of news you read because the news you read can make you even more socially anxious and unhappy. When this happens, it is good to consult with people you trust for a new perspective. Learning new things can also help you avoid anxiety, such as starting to think about investing for the long term.
Start ‘investing’ for a future challenges
Investments can be in the form of time, effort, and money. We can invest time by spending it with family and friends. How often do you call your parents in a week or a month? How often do you greet your friends outside of work? Maybe the answers will be very diverse. You can also invest your energy in exercising; You don’t need to do strenuous exercise; walking for 30 or 45 minutes is enough to maintain stamina throughout the day. Meanwhile, you can invest money by becoming a stock investor or mutual fund. Through this investment, you will learn many things; you will learn to be grateful and appreciate what you have today; you can also learn to save money and focus on managing finances. Then the question arises, will our life be okay with this investment? Certainly not. But at least you have prepared everything to face the challenges in the future. Let’s try to be realistic and dare to change. Wise people say that Change is the end result of all true learning (Leo Buscaglia).
