Reshaping Success & Happiness in a "Post-COVID" World

June 2023

Before COVID-19 changed my life, I spent my time like most New Yorkers: Hanging out with friends every weekend, juggling multiple hobbies, and walking disgustingly fast through an over-caffeinated day. My melatonin-induced sleep was poor, yet I dreamt vividly about satiating my ambition for a dream job in human rights advocacy. When the quarantine restrictions began in March 2020, I was confident they would last temporarily. I assumed we’d all be back to barhopping, yoga classes, and Sunday brunches by July. 

So as the first few weeks under quarantine unraveled, I made no acknowledgement that we were living through an unprecedented crisis. I tried to ignore the severity of the pandemic by scouring the internet daily for job listings. I made colorful to-do lists every morning, aiming to uphold an efficient routine.

Amidst the mass global panic, I was worried--not about my mental or physical health, but about maintaining productivity. I feared what would happen to me (and my chances of success) if I didn't.

The idea of productivity, and the innate focus on mapping the following chapters of life, sprung from my pre-pandemic childhood. My understanding of the great Guyanese-American dream was interspersed with elderly stories relaying that one should "tek yuh education," find a job, get married, and clap roti 3-4 times a week. Along this timeline, a woman should make time to pursue a degree, learn to keep a home, and upkeep tradition by having children early on.

With the World Health Organization officially announcing the end of COVID-19 as a public health emergency in May 2023, there is now an opportunity to think about mindset, health, and productivity differently. In a 2023 study on Guyanese American Perceptions of Mental Health, researchers led a phenomenological study in which they explored the lived experiences of 30 Guyanese American individuals to understand how mental health was perceived.

Dr. Shainna Ali, a licensed Mental Health Counselor, was one of the primary researchers on the project and expressed her satisfaction around the results they were able to achieve after conducting research in 2021 and completing data analyses in 2022. “Every single participant shared once believing mental health was negative and then transitioning to seeing mental health as something that is helpful, healthy, important and potentially positive. We had to pinch ourselves!,” she said.  

Norms around happiness have not only changed in empowering oneself around mental wellness, but in economic mobility too. The Great Resignation gave way to over 4 million workers quitting their jobs in April 2021, reflecting a remarkable 20 year high. The number consistently rose into 2022, with many people denying traditional ways of working and opting to choose flexible and emotionally restorative career ventures that align with their dream life rather than their dream job.