Carol’s Story: A sense of optimism

The lockdown has created a unique cluster of complications and challenges for all of us in unforeseen ways. Our Renew Normal project explores these pressures and the impact they’re having on our daily lives. Carol, a woman in her 60s living in London, shared her struggles with us.

Carol has been worried about catching the virus since lockdown began, which has hindered her ability to go about her daily life. Both Carol and her partner are cancer survivors, so they decided to shield at home. They have been relying on relatives to provide food parcels and other essentials. All of her hospital appointments were sadly cancelled.

Carol and her partner are still committed to being “extra careful”. Not being able to meet others physically, she says, has presented a number of obstacles for her business. But she believes “all these things can be overcome. We have used the time to rethink our business model and we will emerge stronger.”

For Carol, the restructuring of society and the new normal create more business opportunities than ever before: “I am an entrepreneur and I find more opportunities to come out of crises than in the good times …. I like to do things differently and see opportunities everywhere so this environment suits my way of being and thinking. I am a super positive person.” 

Carol has found working from home very easy, and also describes herself as “tech-savvy”. This has allowed her to pursue her aspirations despite her confinement, and keep her business moving.

She thinks lockdown has offered the chance for the public to seek a mindset change. “I think crises open people’s minds to do things differently and with a nothing to lose attitude like the war/post war. Hardship breeds innovation, so I see a world full of opportunity.”

Carol has hope that this positivity can extend into all aspects of life. She believes that communities will change for the better, and that she can survive the rocky road that lies ahead. 

“I have had hardship over the years but survived so I’m confident I will survive again.”

Carol’s story shows that with change comes opportunity – particularly when it challenges us to think differently. Of course, not everyone will have experienced the same challenges, and it’s not always been easy to stay positive. But Carol’s positivity reminds us that we have an opportunity to change things for the better.