I am so fortunate to learn from and alongside my amazing Berkeley students each week. They’ve been developing a changemaker mindset all semester, so on Tuesday I asked them what aspects of thinking and acting like a changemaker are most helping them navigate all of the change around us right now. I wanted to understand which course concepts they are applying to their own life to stay grounded, positive and to continue making a positive impact on those around them during such challenging times. Here are the top 5 results from a poll and our class discussions alongside some resources if you want to learn more.

Right now the world around us is changing more rapidly than we’ve ever experienced, and this is naturally quite scary. But if you are looking to make or lead a change of any kind, it’s actually great news for the changemaker inside of you. With so, so much change happening all around us in every part of our lives, it makes the (perceived) switching costs of taking on any individual new change initiative much less burdensome.

Changemakers see opportunities where others see intractable problems. If you’re not sure where to start, consider looking for opportunities for change at the edges -- leveraging intersections and initiating interdisciplinary thinking. Pay attention to inflection points where one problem starts and another begins. Consider the blind spots of a single discipline and how intersecting with another’s perspective could generate a brand new way of seeing solutions otherwise unimaginable through a single lens.

How many things have changed for you in the last week? A few dozen? A couple hundred? A thousand? We are facing unprecedented levels of change affecting everything from our personal lives to our professional; our physical health to our mental. Not only are you navigating ridiculous set-ups like taking a video call propped up in your laundry room, many of you are also figuring out how to homeschool your kids, all while navigating massive changes at work and in the health of yourself and your loved ones. And perhaps like me you have decided that without gym access, now is the time to become a runner (evidence not all changes are welcomed or going well…)

Too often -- especially here in Silicon Valley -- resilience is thought of simply as enduring as much pain as possible. This is misleading and potentially dangerous to our minds and bodies. Instead, I define resilience as “staying strong for the long haul.” An intentional practice which includes endurance, yes, but which also elevates learning, self-care, and leading with purpose.

Not only can we lead from wherever we are, I believe we can also shape culture from wherever we are. Here's how, through applying a concept called “norm entrepreneurship.”

Applying dispositional flexibility allows us to survive amidst ambiguity; it allows us to honestly recognize that yes, this situation is truly scary, while simultaneously believing in a brighter tomorrow (which we can help create). It means taking necessary precautions, while remembering that there is still lots of good in the world and that (yesterday’s tip!), our actions are the antidote to despair. It’s looking for opportunities to help others instead of reasons to admit defeat.

We can all feel the world changing right before our eyes. It’s changing how we think about health, about community, about work, about education -- about everything. It’s showing us that no one and nowhere is immune to change. It also provides us with an opportunity -- or perhaps a necessity -- to rethink our relationship with change.