In 1961, NASA obtained the IBM 7090 mainframe that enhanced the speed and efficiency of calculations made by human computers. One of these human computers was Dorothy Vaughan, who eventually became the supervisor of a team of African-American women after teaching herself to troubleshoot the IBM 7090 mainframe when IBM engineers struggled to start it up.
Fast forward to the present day, when the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted social patterns and systems, leading to changes in the marketplace and accelerated use of new technologies. The pandemic has also brought about psychological challenges for impacted individuals and families, and the societal impact has resulted in the emergence of new systems. However, predicting the post-COVID-19 landscape and future norms is challenging. The pandemic’s actual costs are incalculable, and momentary trends and patterns only glimpse the longer-term costs. While inclusiveness, wealth gaps, and social justice will likely be persistent issues, the specifics and details of the post-COVID-19 world are still uncertain.
In navigating and persevering through uncertain times like the current pandemic, there are essential competencies that successful individuals possess.
Based on my observations, research, and professional experience working with executive leaders for the United Nations Peacekeeping and Political operations, I have identified the following traits as crucial:
Emotional self-awareness: The capacity to identify and skillfully align our perceptions, emotions, and feelings to avoid affecting our performance and relationships. Individuals with high emotional self-awareness can better adapt to changing circumstances, exhibit greater self-control, and demonstrate an understanding of how their emotions can impact those around them.
Impulse control: The psychological ability or degree to manage urges for immediate gratification (pleasure and the effect of emotions). Our degree of impulse control may be the top indicator of our adaptability, including our ability to develop relationships, school/work performance, and future employment.
Grit: The mental drive, courage, passion, perseverance, and strength to work through difficult situations and achieve our objectives. Grit is a non-cognitive trait based on an individual’s character and is usually exhibited during extreme adversity. A person with true grit is determined to work through difficult situations to achieve their objective.
Perseverance: The ability determination to continue despite adverse circumstances and consistently steadfastness in facing obstacles or challenges. Perseverance helps individuals achieve their main objectives despite the odds. These traits are exhibited by those who have found their purpose.
Resilience: A resilient person has the mental drive, emotional strength, and good behavior to quickly cope with a crisis and return to pre-crisis psychological states, with a surplus of positivity that allows individuals to spend it without concern about running out.
Reality testing: Enables us to see and assess circumstances and situations as they are rather than as we would like them to be. It involves paying attention to cues, searching for evidence to confirm, estimate our emotions, and justifying, denying, and supporting feelings, perceptions, or intuitive thoughts. Reality contributes to how we assess our reality and make decisions.
Self-actualization: The ability to pursue growth and improve oneself and pursue growth while working on your life purpose. As presented in Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs, which illustrates various needs that motivate human behavior, self-actualization is at the top of the pyramid. It enables an individual’s full acceptance of themselves and others as they are. People who achieve a high degree of self-actualization understand their values, basics, and psychological (intimate relationships, friends, prestige, and feeling of accomplishment) requirements and engage in creative activities that maximize their full potential.
Stress tolerance: The ability to remain calm, focused, and positive despite a constant bombardment of emotion while facing adverse circumstances.
As we navigate the uncertain and rapidly changing landscape of the post-COVID-19 world, possessing these competencies can help individuals persevere and succeed. The ability to remain calm, focused, and positive despite a constant bombardment of emotions while facing adverse circumstances is critical to stress tolerance. By developing these traits, individuals can better adapt to change, manage their emotions, and maintain a positive outlook even in the most challenging times.
