‘What do we do with our finite life?’: how Covid reframed our relationship with ourselves

Mass disruption has caused many to rethink what they want out of life and consider changes from prioritising mental health to reshaping their identity

• The pandemic has allowed us to see so much. What will we do with our newfound clarity?
• Guardian readers respond: how has the pandemic made you rethink life?

Every disruption is a point of potential growth," says associate professor Terry Bowles of the University of Melbourne. And we have experienced quite a period of disruption.

Unprecedented change overwhelmed us in 2020 and 2021. Enduring the Covid pandemic has meant living through drastic adjustments to social and professional environments, an intense restriction of movement and choice, and prolonged bouts of social distancing and isolation.