All hopes are high in 2022 for these many citizens who have chosen to make their revolution to give meaning to their lives. They were traders, executives in large groups and lived comfortably, but the pandemic has shaken their certainties and triggered sometimes radical life changes. All week long, Theecology looks back on trends that give hope for the future.
For Victor, Enora and many citizens, this new year will be like no other. After the time of doubts and the revolution over the past year, it’s time in 2022 for the realization of projects and the installation in a new life. A life that, this time, they will have chosen. Like Victor Cannilla, a brilliant student from Lausanne (Switzerland), who became a trader in record time and then a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), one of the three most prestigious consulting firms in the world, above all. ditch in 2021.
Coming from a modest background, the young man was admitted to the largest schools and won the prestigious scholarship from The Economist. Logically, he is moving towards large companies where he works a lot, without taking the time to ask questions. With hindsight, he now understands that he was living ” in a personal relationship, with colleagues or friends who share the same standard of living where questions have no place. We protect ourselves behind psychological mechanisms that manage to legitimize cognitive dissonances, “says the now climate activist.
Anyone who ” then ticks all the boxes for professional success ” wonders about the meaning of his missions. The tipping point is reached when he participates in a project in the food industry whose ” goal was to flood a country in Eastern Europe with cookies at low prices, with the consequent destruction of the fabric. local economy and the development of junk food “. Faced with this case of conscience, the young consultant then wonders about its usefulness.
It also calls into question the dominant economic theories ” taught at school without ever being questioned “, is now astonished Victor Cannilla. It finds answers in books, podcasts, ecological videos and alternative models. ” I had five or six moments of rocking that reinforced each other each time ,” he says. He then landed a one-year mission with BCG and the NGO WWF. But his resignation quickly becomes obvious.
On Google, the search for “change careers” has increased by 202%!
Last spring, Victor Cannilla chose to quit his business with a bang! He made a presentation in front of hundreds of colleagues where he spoke about climate and degrowth, a brilliant stroke noticed in this discreet environment. Whoever wanted to trigger awareness received many messages of encouragement. He hung up the costume and the beautiful buildings to continue his engagement in the streets alongside the activists of the climate strike.
Another destiny, another radical change: that of Enora who chose to leave the city and work as a works supervisor, where ” she spent a lot of time on the roads “, to become a market gardener. It now defends an ” economically viable micro-farm system based on the peasantry and resilience “. She does not regret her choice even though she has divided her salary by three. ” For nothing in the world I would not go back ” she indicates even if she admits having some fears for the future.
These life changes are not isolated. After confinement, the search for “change careers” on Google increased by 202%! ” Since the start of the pandemic, nearly 10% of French people have decided to change their life. They have notably chosen to leave the big cities to reconnect with nature. Paris, for example, has lost 10,000 inhabitants “, indicates Jean Viard, research director at CNRS. ” During the pandemic, people lived the fear of death and they come out of this episode different. Their concerns evolve and the search for meaning becomes central “, indicates the author of “The revolution that we expected has arrived ” (Dawn). ” Desirable things change. For example, to hold a coffee in Brittany becomes more enviable than to have a post of framework in Paris “, adds the sociologist. It remains to be seen if these changes will be registered in the duration. The year which opens will be pivotal.