The next normal
… you’ve endured a pandemic and figured out what serves you. Don’t relinquish it.
I’ve heard from a lot of people, not just introverts, that they’re anxious about the “next” normal—that is, the next iteration of life after vaccinations and a return to socializing, the office, and so on.
Despite its myriad atrocities, the pandemic helped people distill what’s important in life: family, health, well-being, celebrating milestones, and more. It culled the unnecessary and showed us, at a bare minimum, what we need to survive (eachother).
But going from surviving to thriving doesn’t mean just adding back everything we once had. Consider the changes we made to our work lives: While many of us have enjoyed the pivot to remote work, there are plenty of people who don’t want to exclusively work from home forever, either. Organizations will have to adjust, sustaining their flexible work policies if they want to retain and attract talent going forward.
The same goes for your social life. While the pandemic gave us all a get out of jail free card on obligations, there’s no need to go back to giving over your time to what doesn’t serve you anymore. It’s okay to emerge from the pandemic (and your home) changed. It’s okay to say no to invitations that don’t bring you joy.
Granted, it’s always been okay to do this, but the pandemic gave us a chance to universally pull the plug on everything—and only build back what works. In essence, we dumped out the junk drawer of life, and we’re only putting back what's essential and useful. Throw away your receipts from 2015 and, while you’re at it, toss the instruction manuals you’ve been saving since then, too.
This last year, we all learned what it means to press “pause.” In the year ahead, remind yourself that it’s also okay to hit “next.”
Supplemental reading: My last newsletter, ICYMI. Also, the one I wrote about getting clear on what’s important to you.