So, how are you coping now that we are eight months into a pandemic? Depending on where you live, you are either dealing with different guidelines laid out by your local government health department or ignoring them. We live in British Columbia. In March 2020 we experienced a shutdown that forced us to close one of our businesses. It remained closed for 14+ weeks. We were not sure if we would be able to reopen or not for the longest time. There was a great deal of uncertainty and once we could reopen, there were several new guidelines we had to follow. They were not that difficult to adapt to and our business has been open ever since.

But What If There Is Another Shutdown?

That is a real question facing us these days as the British Columbia provincial health department has changed things again. It seems the guidelines are constantly evolving so far in late November 2020. Face masks were made mandatory in all public settings with an emphasis on indoor locations. Then face shields were considered not good enough, only certain masks. We have cloth masks (not considered effective) as well as 4-ply paper masks (the preferred choice). We have been wearing masks when shopping or at any other public venue since March, so this part is easy for us. It allows us to keep our business functioning while staying safe.

However, a two-week period meant to break the cycle of COVID-19 cases being confirmed in the province is the new plan. Whether you agree with mask-wearing or not or consider the virus a "plandemic" or not is not where I am going here. I'm more interested in discussing what it has been like living in a state of emergency for as long as we have. We've seen small businesses close down for good because of the restrictions. It has been both difficult and incredible for entrepreneurs at this point. Some have lost far too much to recover and others have found innovation to keep enough cash-flow to pay their most important bills.

But another shutdown would be devastating for those of us who have managed to stay on top of things so far. Then there are the mental health issues that come into play. I think that is why I see some people ignoring arrows on grocery store floors and not keeping their distance. Everyone is on edge, cranky, and had it to here with rules that seem to keep changing and no real solid proof that any of it is actually working. That doesn't mean we will quit wearing our masks as a protest. It just means that going into Winter with issues is just going to get compounded with the shorter days and colder weather. It's not going to be pretty.

What Has This Got To Do With A Midlife Career Change?

Well, COVID-19 could be the catalyst for change in your life. If you are a business owner, you've seen the decrease in revenue and have probably had to lay off some staff in order to stay somewhat fluid. Or maybe your job disappeared as a result of the pandemic or your position is one that can't be converted into a work-from-home model. These changes have impacted employed Canadians across the country and in all age demographics. For those of us in the 35+ year bracket, it will have somewhat of a greater impact. However, I can tell you that if that is your scenario, you are at the perfect age to start over, doing something else, even if you don't think you can.

COVID-19 is opening many doors for entrepreneurs to use technology in ways it has never been used before. Teleconferencing, telemedicine, remote working, and similar processes are creating many opportunities for those who are seeking means to stay employed. It also means that online freelance platforms like Upwork and Fiverr are starting to draw more interest from people who are now working from home. It is how I built my home-based business and although my job numbers have gone down slightly from what I suspect is related to the pandemic, I still get plenty of work monthly from around the world. But how do you do it?

Here's How

Need tips on how to reinvent yourself in the COVID world? I can help you survive a midlife career change in your life. All you have to do is order a copy of my eBook: "Surviving Midlife Career Changes?" It is available at Amazon by clicking HERE.

One of the things I have always focused on was celebrating the small victories. I think that comes from the fact that I was never really all that athletic in school. I never participated in team sports and it wasn't until my last high school years when I developed an interest in running. It was an easy sport to do and didn't require a lot of sporting equipment nor the memorization of a lot of rules or guidelines. I ran for years, stopped, and started running again and did this off and on well into my adult years. One of the things I liked most about running was that I was only competing against myself. 

Part of My Recovery Plan

As I have been recovering from congestive heart failure, I started walking as part of my treatment. At first, I could only go 3-minutes inside our fenceline and I'd be done. I kept at it and here I am almost six months later and I routinely go for walks of longer than 25-minutes. The personal best I set for September 2020 was 95-minutes. I'll probably beat that in the next month. I also added light weightlifting (heavy weights, as I once did a few years ago would be too much strain on my heart), and stairclimbing. My personal best on stairs currently sits at 1,054 stairs. I expect to pass that within the next month.

Setting Targets Always Help

I say I plan to best those individual "records" and when I say that, I'm talking about just adding more time to a walk or another trip up the outdoor stairs I use. I'm not talking about setting goals that are so out of reach I'd never get to them. I instead set attainable goals and shoot for those over some time. Even if I don't set new personal bests in the next month, each time I go for a walk or climb those stairs are victories. I've had two specialists in the past month congratulate me on my progress. I had only 10% heart function back in April when I started walking. I'm sort of a rarity, apparently.

How This Plays Into Midlife Career Changes

The timing of my condition could not have been better if we tried to plan it if such a thing were possible. If we still had the newspaper, there would have been no way we could have continued in business as I started my recovery. I didn't have the strength to do much of anything and required up to four naps per day to get through the day. I had little to no energy. Sure, it has come back, but it took a couple of months to start to make a difference. Operating a weekly newspaper would not have fit into the daily recovery at all. However, both our home-based businesses did fit into the picture.

Working From Home Is Flexible

The flexibility we now have in our new careers - which are not all that new to us anymore - have allowed us to deal with situations in a very different way. COVID also impacted our businesses which forced one of them to close temporarily and the other to slow down to the point where I could still stay on top of the work that was coming in. None of this would have been possible with our previous careers. So, we have something else to be thankful for since our midlife career changes took place. As odd as that may sound, it happens to be true.

In Conclusion

As I continue to work through my treatment plan, I set attainable goals and celebrate the small victories I make along the way. There is no need for major goals because when you build on smaller ones, you eventually hit a big one. For me these days, being able to walk longer than 3-minutes and climb more than a flight of stairs without crawling up them on all fours are accomplishments. And I have most certainly built on those. Our midlife career changes permitted the flexibility to allow for things that would otherwise derail a business. Instead, we are working around situations with ease and confidence.

Find Out More

To find out more about how you can survive a midlife career change in your life, why not order a copy of my eBook: "Surviving Midlife Career Changes?" It is available at Amazon by clicking HERE.