The New Normal
So much is going on in your life right now. There are so many opportunities missed, people you haven’t seen, and activities that had to be cancelled. Your relationships are suffering and your mental health is taking a beating. All you want to do is be normal again. But how do you make that happen?
Do you even know what you mean by “normal?” Do you remember that life you lived before the pandemic? It wasn’t perfect. You spent so much time dreaming about the next thing you couldn’t wait to do. You forgot to live the life you had at the time because you were on the countdown for that next thing. Does that really sound like the normal you want to go back to?
Why not take this time to look at the life you lead before the pandemic. Realistically look at the things that you are missing the most. Do you really miss those things or do you miss the connection they represent?
We tend to miss the people in our lives, the places we go, and the connections we have. Sometimes the lines get blurred and we forget that those things may not really be want we want to do. Sometimes it’s just the connection to other people that we long to have in our lives.
When you find yourself missing volunteering at your child’s school or having lunch with the moms from the PTA, step back and take a good look at the picture. Do you really miss being at the school or do you miss seeing your child interact with his or her friends? Do you miss having lunch with the PTA or do you miss adult conversation? If the world were to go back to normal tomorrow, would you be excited to do the things you miss or would you be dreading them?
I found that most people are just missing the connection, the relationships, and the freedom to do what they want to do. How can you get that connection and freedom without going back to the same-old events you dreaded before the pandemic?
Now is the time to reinvent how you want to handle events in your life. Now is the time to think about your future happiness and what you can do to make sure you really are happy. Instead of focusing on all that this pandemic took away from you, try to figure out a way to make it work to your advantage. You have already spent a year not working the concession stand, do you really want to go back to that? You spent a year being able to say no to things you didn’t really want to do. Instead of thinking of it as a bad thing, use this time to practice only saying yes to the things that light you up!
They used to ask us what we wanted to be when we grew up. My question to you is, who do you want to be when you find your new normal? What does that look like? Are you saying yes for you or just to have a connection?
