Page 30 - Sharp: The Book For Men FW21

MICHAEL LA FAVE / CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER
OVER THE PAST 18 MONTHS, I’VE BEEN OFF MY GAME. I DON’T need to tell you about the myriad contributing factors, but the long and short of it is that I lost focus. I didn’t realize just how much I de- pendedonmyroutinetosupportmygoals,which,inturn,contribute to my overall mental health and happiness. The question is: how can I rebuild it? Well, if you’re feeling rudderless, stick a rudder in the water.
Everyone is pontificating about which changes of the past while will be enduring. Nobody really knows, but it’s easy enough to imagine that some percentage of the white collar workforce will never fully return to their offices or their previous routines. From that, we can imagine the cascading effect of that profound behavioural change on cities, businesses, and individuals. But I digress — how to find
consistency and predictability in an evolving and unpredictable environment? I guess you just have to make it.
I’ve treated the past 18 months as a never-ending vacation at an all-inclusive; I’m not gonna lie, it’s been great. Sure it’s been stressful and upsetting. The degree to which so many have suffered unnecessarily is enraging and continues to be, but I’m ready and willing to move forward. And so, like many of you, I imagine, the return to some kind of structure coincides arbitrarily with a return to school for kids and a hybrid work-from-home schedule. I want it! I need it!
But I don’t want or need all of it. Like you, I’m sure, I’ve seen plenty of examples of the desire for an outright return to the previous status quo and thought, “Why?” There are plenty of ways the pandemic has shed light on alternative ways of living and doing business, and we’d be massively negligent not to consider how each and every one should or should not exist.
That said, I know I need more structure than I’ve had or have self-imposed. Ironically, any structure I do adhere to will be self-imposed, but the nature of it will be different than before, because, in many cases, the expectations of business partners, colleagues, staff, and customers will have shifted.
Perhaps this will be the greatest challenge: discerning the many ways the aforementioned will change their interactions with us and with each other and finding a path forward through this amalgam of new and old. It’ll take a little more time for those elements to evolve, to gel, and be formulated into a plan.
For me, I think, it starts with a set schedule. But not for a couple more weeks. There’s still a bit of summer left, and I think we’ve all earned the right to enjoy every last minute of it.
30 BFM / FW21 LETTER
PHOTO BY MATT BARNES