If there was a sentiment that summed up 2020, it would certainly not be happiness.
Between Covid’s excruciating double whammy of a public health and economic crisis, soaring unemployment, struggling small businesses, hundreds of thousands of deaths, rising rates of depression, reminders of systemic racism and a disturbing political divide — all under an obstinate cloud of uncertainty and unanswered questions — suffice to say, it’s been difficult to find real solace in the last seven months.
Despite all of that, happiness remains an important pursuit for us all, for our physical and mental well-being. So we thought we’d ask our most influential business leaders across Greater Washington about what they did during our community’s most trying times to attain it.
We reached out to many of the executives on the Washington Business Journal’s Power 100 list of 2019 with what used to be a simple question: What are you doing to stay happy in 2020?
Incidentally, something else that’s been elusive this year? Power. The pandemic has stripped that of so many across this region and nation, from green recruits to global CEOs, making so many of us feel utterly powerless in its wake — and a new Power 100 class for 2020 more difficult to define.
So we are finding other ways this year to recognize Greater Washington’s deserving business heroes, including through our revamped CEO of the Year program, where we will highlight five chief executives who have risen to meet 2020’s challenges head on. Read more about that program here, and nominate a CEO by Oct. 30 here.
And in the meantime, take a look at what many in the Power 100 class of 2019 had to say about how they stayed positive through the pandemic in the gallery above, in many cases alongside images of their newly masked incarnations — another reflection of 2020.
We hope their responses offer you a little bit of happiness, too.
Irma Becerra, president, Marymount University
“I’ve gained happiness from being able to welcome Marymount students back to campus this fall, like they wanted, by providing them a safe option to continue learning while staying safe. For self-care, I am learning to play golf. I also love getting outdoors in a safe way and appreciating our beautiful fall colors.”
Click here to read the full article on the Washington Business Journal’s website.
