Adaptability

I gaze myself deeply, from the reflection that exists, created by the tirelessly-working computer screen, a thing, a device, a work-buddy, that now I can’t let go of. Every single file of assignment, every single orb of image that represents this strange yet mysterious thing called memories, every single file of job application, that only a few of them can have the opportunity to spark some joy and smile in myself -because at least they responded-, and a device that I always rely on to do my daily routine as a college student, with every single link of online classes, meetings and websites, that I steadfastly visit every weekdays, or well, at least I try to.

            It came to my immediate attention ever since the early times of the pandemic that, “Well, now everything needs to go online for a while, at least up until the pandemic ends”. Now, even after 1+ year since March 2020 when it first came to Indonesia, with the addition of absolutely no clearance of when will this pandemic is going to end as well, that statement still rings as loud as ever. It bounces its echoes in schools, universities, governmental buildings, and public service institutions, changing their service method, and bringing a change -finally- to their boring, dull, and stagnant work ethic.

Even restaurants, food start-ups, and small street-food vendors, that are very unlikely to be brought online, are getting severe impacts out of this. These people rely their living from the money they receive daily. The income that comes as a result of relentless work every night. Especially small street-food vendors, where every night they persistently go to the same spot to build again their stalls, staying up until very late, knowing with zero certainty about, “How many people will come here and buy what I sell tonight?”. For those who use carts are not entirely different. Same thoughts exist in their minds. The only difference is they push their carts and wagons, from one village to another, walking tirelessly, using their rubber sandals, not shoes, bought from their near-home convenient store, with the price of about a dollar, and it will be used up until it breaks.

One thing that they probably share in common is they sell, they stay awake up until night, meeting with a lot of people, but, with wife and kid -or kids- deep planted inside their mind, acting as their primary source of motivation, constantly chanting that very exact phrase of, “I should bring home money tonight for my family. For my wife. For the education of my kids”. Else, it’s going to be doomsday. Bills are left unpaid, children are not taken care of, even things as simple as the prosperity of the stomach can be very threatened. Even one is fair to say that a full stomach is indeed becoming a luxury. As the income gradually declines, as the inability to adapt is slowly yet doubtlessly increasing, making them temporarily removed from the game. For some, not temporarily, but for good.

 

            I paused my staring a little.

 

I got distracted from this very particular thing in my mind. A scary thought, yet true, and pointless to avoid as well, that turns out,

Time flies.

It has flown for at least 19 years for me personally, it flew as well for at least the last 1+ year since the pandemic started that brings major changes in some aspects of life, and it will still continue to fly, decades upon decades later in the future, that only God and life itself that has the key to unlock the very particular knowledge of how it will be.

It is scary. It is mysterious. But hey, what choice do we have?

Adaptability is becoming more important than ever. Works that used to exist are now in an almost-extinct state. “How come?” you might ask. The answer is, Automation. One of the definitions of automation based on Cambridge Dictionary is “the use of machines or computers instead of people to do a job, especially in a factory or office”, and, it is actually not that strange anymore, isn’t it? Bots are already everywhere, in Facebook Messenger, in Google Assistant or Siri, in WhatsApp Business’ feature, and many other online platforms. This particular bot can soon take over the job of Customer Service, because it is faster in terms of time response, they reduce labor costs for organization, and they can reach more people more efficiently compared to if the organization is using human workers.

In addition to that, forbes.com is listing 11 Jobs That May Be Automated in The Next Decade^[1]. Some that a lot of people are in are Customer Service, Repetitive or Dangerous Jobs, Healthcare, Delivery Services, Non-Creative Marketing Roles, and Editorial Jobs. Seeing one of your dream jobs in that list? Or seeing the name of your current job that you are forced to enter because there are no other choices at the moment? Well, afraid not. As long as you’re still open to change, as long as you’re still keeping that desire to learn alive, you will survive.

The more concerning thing is, it’s not happening in Indonesia only, even the first world countries are experiencing the same thing, even though they do have more things to compensate for this. But the point is, once again, adaptability is needed now more than ever. Why? Because we can no longer look to the past to search for answers. We can no longer rely ourselves fully on the things that have been done by people in the past, because for a few things, the answer might not be there.

Data science, programming, bitcoin, social media, virtual meetings, are some of the things that the people before us are very limited on exploring. Yet, those things will be very commonly seen and used in the near future. Therefore, it is menacing to keep living in the past, to just use the old ways, and to not let ourselves be shone by the light of upgrades and innovations.

Substantially speaking, the things I mentioned earlier is what the future might be focusing on, and agreed by many as well. But, it is not bounded to that only. What matters, is in the mind. If there’s one thing that I can learn throughout this pandemic, as well as through seeing the dynamic of the world just in the past year, is whatever you are, whichever job field you might choose, there’s no skill that is more important to master than the ability to successfully adapt to the current situation and make the absolute best out of it. As the ingenious physicist Stephen Hawking once said, “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change”.

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^[1]https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/2021/02/23/11-jobs-that-may-be-automated-in-the-next-decade/?sh=63b24041972c