Sunil Yatalamatta Gamage

Country weather the storm of Covid-19, for individuals, businesses, routines of lives; by developing resilience muscle is the tool to improve reality, make lives meaningful, and improvised. – Research On Resilience

Our country is changing in many ways towards progress. It is happening everywhere for better. The country was in a crisis situation in two ways and still not yet over. First of all we haven’t had the safety as well as political stability. Ranil Wickramasinghe had introduced mockery to our constitution to stay in power in his position. The result was complete anarchy which was prevailed during the time of Yahapalanaya” regime. He has allowed drug business to thrive as a business in this country. Because of those unsafe, ground realities and constitutional mockery; the big picture of the country was quite unstable & we were fast moving to a failed state in the region.

However, the present government has taken timely decisions to fight with the reality and long way to go to achieve objectives. Government leadership and vision has been the driving factor for change and it is the trust of people. Like every country we are in a crisis time with less ability to complete eradication of Covid -19. So this is a profound time for businesses and individuals to develop positively adapt to disturbances that threaten its functioning, viability & development. In other words we need to develop the Resilience” muscle as individuals and organizations. It is time to grow through our ability in many fronts and we need to understand and dynamic, which explains in resilience. One school of thought of resilience is the ability to go on with life or continue living a purposeful life after hardship or adversity. Resilience makes positive outcomes during adversity possible. The most important thing to consider what have we learn over the past 4 years during the Yahapalanaya time. People build up uncertainty on daily basis which builds anxiety in the hearts and minds of the people. As a result of a power hungry government and a rule.

People went to work with uncertainty. They were not sure the bus or train will be there for them get to work. Farmers were not sure they might be able to procure fertilizers for the farming. They were not sure they could sell their harvest to a better price. Parents were in fear of sending their children to schools due to drug abuse environment of the community. Police was not maintaining law and order of the country. As a result Pascu Sunday attach killed more than 250 people and disabled many lives in the country. There was massive corruption scandals every where in the country. In rural areas of the country; people were positive in their daily lives and mitigated among their communities how to live safely in an uncertain time. The contagion part of that resilience was remarkably positive. People were helping each other and, inspiring each other and leading each other to overcome hardships.

We all know the world is in a crisis situation due to pandemic. The economic activities are not functioning as it was. Economic theories need to rewrite again by taking a different perspective of self sufficiency of a country. As a country we weather the storm and will be much prepared to face the challenges & disturbances which will experiencing during the time.

During this time improving the resilience muscle and  entrepreneurship is the way to change the identity of the way we doing things and live. People have made many changes to the ways they do their businesses. Virtual sessions, online purchasing etc. As everybody aware tourism industry hit hard and continue due to Covid-19. The entrepreneurial thinking has changed the way they do their businesses. Hotel Lavanga” at Seenigama in southern Sri Lanka has open their hotel for locals. They reduced the prices and made changes to their food menus & done positive changes to attract local businesses. I think the hotel owner was more resilient in the face of challenge and had come out with better solutions. So the resilient people always find opportunity in the face of challenge and come out with more characteristics to their business and find ways, they do their businesses. There are 3 distinct characteristics of resilient people they are; a/ Accept the reality, b/Believe that life is meaningful, c/Ability to improvise.

Another way of building ourselves on resourcing from resilience in front of challenges. What happen in resilience; the process in which an individual or system positively adapts to disturbances that threaten its functioning, viability or development. So there are key two things happen in resilience the disturbance and a positive action. There are key things to build capacity over time. The first is dynamic. Think about Ajith Perera in Sri Lanka. He is the dynamic Potter in Sri Lanka trying to mobilize the industry to a position in the world. Resilience is not a trait. Which means it is not a characteristic or quality. It is something a person can built over time. Which could be developed. Most important is how a person could develop resilience muscle over a disturbance.

There are three ways could boost resilience. 1. Risk focused strategies; which means reduce or prevent risk. We need our decisions to be more greater viable places from all perspectives of operations, but reality is it is quite difficult. The second 2. Resource focused strategies; which means increase resources or access to resources. The third one is one which will help to build anyone’s resources or utilize the resources. Practice and promote the resources in the environment. 3. Process- focused resources; Practice and promote adaptability/agility.

When think of resources what are them; which are resources of resilient functioning for people; In the big picture of research there some individual attributes, relational attributes, social attributes that people are doing quite well. Some of the protective factors demonstrate are 1. higher problem solving skills, self regulations skills, Motivation, self efficacy (belief themselves, they think they can do hard things), Internal locus control(Person will have the influence to know over what happening to you), psychological tendencies towards faith, hope, optimism. High quality social relationships, well functioning organizations and communities.

Think about the the new state ministries portfolios and the functioning expectations to achieve goals of sufficiency. Those functions parameters and resources use has been well documented and relied on to build the rural economy from a diverse perspective.

The three ways of increasing more resilience by improving thinking process focused strategies of normalize the struggle and embrace the ambivalence in all of our moments. Think of what is happening to us now, and what we are going through the pandemic. By observing the positive and negative incidents we be able to find a path for growth.  Identify the ways we can re-narrate things; take control of your story. We cannot control the environment. Think about the life when this time pass of Covid-19. As the hotel industry going through a pause for its momentum. The Lavanga” made changes to its target customer focus and did introduced changes to menus, slashed down prices, and made it more family oriented resort for locals. What a wonderful thinking of resilience. The last aspect is Investing in your relationships even when it is hard to do so. It is quite hard when living in a pandemic. Most of the time people perspective they do act defensively, undermine relationships, it is actually time to investing our relationships being more compassionate on co workers, friends & more to help us become more resilient ourselves.

Well having noticing change in many ways people doing things one of the key need to improvise as individuals is pride certainly. Person like Ajith Perera, and Hotel lavanga owner has shown their resilience to lift others up for better by believing themselves, engaging and achieving. From the perspective building our lives of people which matters during the pandemic. One of the foremost common to rest of the world and our country we are all together in this time of pandemic. It doesn’t matter person live in Canada, U.S.A, England, France, or India. All experience the same intensity of the pandemic. People & groups connecting through virtual platforms to share things with them to feel better themselves. Grand parents are involving with the children to help out speaking and schooling time with them. All these activities strength our bonds with each other. One of the key aspect of compassionate to other is something need to build each other during the time, it is because nobody knows what is going on with other person at this moment of time.

Resilience through challenges grows in the country as the government encourage our own industries to grow and  prosper. The key intervention of Ajith Perera and his clay industry to establish the brand initiative through Sri Lankan image has enormous contagion entrepreneurial spirit. He is mobilizing the concept among youngsters; it is contagion & growing. There is hidden inspirational potential to explore, put into crafting the image. I am certain he is doing it in the coming years inspiring with the others. The most important advantage for his initiative of entrepreneurial thinking of establishing brand is blessed by the present government. The government will encourage & will support of improving the clay industry and exporting products. 

New normal under the circumstances is different by now. Personally myself, I am going through a tough time, but as a person I realized the the reality, and always want to think life has to be spent meaningfully. And trying to improve as an individual and through my commitment to my children. My own story is a see myself more resilient way and my engagement has been inspirational to certain people which is resilient to me as well as for others.