By Sofía Araya Calvo – Student of the English-Spanish Translation career
No one expected a situation like the pandemic to affect the lives of all people globally in such a significant way. As of March 2020, Costa Rica officially entered a pandemic state and a year later its effects are still very present in today’s society. The development of soft skills such as effective communication, adaptability and the management of emotions such as stress help people to strengthen their thinking, in order to cope with difficult situations that may arise, such as the COVID pandemic. -19.
Now that the virtual modality has been embraced by so many institutions, effective communication has become key to interpersonal relationships as face-to-face encounters are very limited and online conversations become more necessary. Castro (2020b), from the European Institute of Positive Psychology, defines effective communication as “a type of communication in which we manage to transmit the message in an understandable and very clear way for the receiver without causing doubts, confusion or possible wrong interpretations” (para. 2). The basis of effective communication is the interaction between people and the many elements that this entails. Among these, body language is an extremely important one that is limited by virtuality. In such a way that people saw the need to improve their communication skills to be able to work as a team both in the professional and educational fields. Being able to communicate remotely by electronic and virtual means has become essential in today’s society.
As has been demonstrated by the transformation that the planet underwent since the beginning of 2020, the world is constantly changing and it does not wait for anyone, so adaptability is a significant skill for workers in the new world where everything is in motion and constant transformation. One of the greatest abilities of the human being from its origin and throughout its evolution is adaptability and this is demonstrated in this sudden and hasty change. According to Rodríguez and Quintanilla (2019), “thanks to intelligence, human beings have learned to adapt reality to their own needs” (para. 4). Being able to lead a healthy daily life has become a challenge for many and that is where adaptability comes into play.
Many businesses and institutions had to close their doors, even if these were essential for the good life of many citizens. People had to adapt to the new situations: the high rates of unemployment and work from home; From here all the entrepreneurial citizens arose who became professionals to continue supporting their families with new businesses. In addition, thousands of students had to adapt in order to continue with something as important as education. Despite how hard it is to learn virtually, every day many of them manage to triumph over the obstacles that are presented to them.
It is no secret to anyone that social distancing and quarantine have caused multiple obstacles in the lives of many people, so knowing how to handle emotions and especially stress can help many to remain resilient to the current reality. According to Castro (2020a), “emotional management is the ability of a person to manage and channel the different types of emotions, whether positive or negative” (para. 2). The human being is a social being by nature and being alone can generate many negative emotions. Daily face-to-face interactions with friends and other family members were one of the most effective ways to relieve stress and other negative emotions. Added to this are the many daily responsibilities that many times due to the pandemic become even more complicated. As a way to solve these accumulations of stress, many chose to exercise or start mindfulness practices such as meditation or yoga. Not knowing when it will return to normal, maintaining these practices has shown that the stresses caused by confinement and distancing can be overcome.
Thus, soft skills are of the utmost importance for daily life and to be able to cope with the many challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it. Effective communication is essential to remain united as a society and to work properly as a team. Adaptability is essential for survival in times of great change and uncertainty. Managing stress and other emotions is crucial to moving forward with resilience and reaching any goal no matter the circumstances. Therefore, improving these three skills is important in this new reality.
MOXIE is the ULACIT Channel (www.ulacit.ac.cr), produced by and for university students, in alliance with the independent journalistic medium Delfino.cr, in order to provide them with a space to generate and disseminate their ideas. It is called Moxie – which in urban English means having the ability to face difficulties with intelligence, boldness and courage – in honor of our students, whose “moxie” characterizes them.
Bibliographic references:
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Castro, S. (2020a). Emotional Management: Keys to Managing Emotions. European Institute of Positive Psychology. https://www.iepp.es/manejo-emocional/
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Castro, S. (2020b). Effective communication. European Institute of Positive Psychology. https://www.iepp.es/comunicacion-efectiva/
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Rodríguez, E. and Quintanilla, AL (2019). Human-nature relationship: Development, adaptability and positioning towards the search for subjective well-being. Advances in Agricultural Research, 23 (3). https://www.redalyc.org/jatsRepo/83 7/83762317002 / html / index.html # redalyc_83762317002_ref2
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