Like the Arrival of Your First Born, There's No Going Back to the Old Normal

Being in this time reminds me of my first days of parenthood. During those first weeks, I wondered aloud, at what week our lives would go back to those regular days of sleep and order? What every other parent knew then was there’s no going back, sister. It's a new normal; you have to move forward and find your way. People depend on you. It feels the same today. I keep hearing people say, “when things go back to normal…” but the old normal feels like it’s gone forever. So here we are, tired of being stuck inside, having no idea where we’re headed, but ready to press on.

If I’m being honest, some positive things have emerged in the last eight weeks. I mentioned a few in an earlier post (here). It’s a time of exploration. We have tried more new things on social media in the last four weeks than in the previous year. And we’ve watched a lot of others do the same, which encourages us, and the cycle continues. This time forces us to have courage. (As entrepreneur, Rachel Hollis, shows us here.) All of our marketing documents, from emails to pop-ups to sign-up forms, got a refresh. Then there are the new social media apps to learn (or new to us), like Tik Tok, who knew? Somehow, it seems we need to design a dance routine while holding artisan gift boxes. Still working on that one.

Everyone, including the industries thriving today, is working on new protocols, processes, and offerings. We're all in complete heads-down, creative, innovation mode. For some of us, this will turn into bold, new opportunities, or so my virtual podcast coaches keep telling me. Having to do all this for sheer survival isn’t the preferred reason for making these changes, but it may get us where we need to be, or should already have been.

So, this too keeps us up at night, forces us to try all kinds of creative things, and motivates us to reach out to friends and mentors for advice and counsel (as if they know the answer?). We try, we fail, we have great days, then we scramble to avoid a meltdown. We do our best to find joy in each day. Along the way, we learn patience, perhaps a little grace, and one day we look back at the fond memories and appreciate all we’ve accomplished in our journey. This is our hope for the birth of this new age.