I watched a Facebook video in early 2018 from Hey, Sweet Pea that got me thinking.
Because she said something profound (regarding how we approach business) that I felt could translate over into our personal lives.
While not in the same exact words, she basically said to stop trying to get back to normal, to the way things used to be.
Let that sink in for a minute…
“Stop trying to get back to normal, to the way things used to be.”
Of course, this takes on a whole new meaning today, in early 2021, because we’ve just spent an entire year living in a pandemic universe – something that is being called the “new normal.”
But the message from Hey, Sweet Pea still remains the same – we can’t go back to the way it used to be.
“Normal” just describes a stage of life that you were used to. When something happens that changes your “normal,” the first reaction is often to try to do what you can to go back to normal.
But why do we do that? Isn’t it more appropriate to just pivot and make adjustments?
In my opinion, back in 2018 when I first heard this, my answer was “yes.”
And today, a year into pandemic life, my answer is still “yes.”
Making adjustments is the better way to handle changes versus trying to go back to how things used to be.
In today’s post, I’m sharing with you 3 reasons why I think we shouldn’t try and go back to normal when faced with changes and why it’s better to just adjust and pivot to the curveballs of life (including this giant pandemic curveball).
Reason 1: Because your life is different now.
In reality, if there is one thing I know for sure about life after my short thirty-something years on this Earth, it is that life evolves. It grows. And unless we grow with it, detach from the past, and move forward and make an attempt to pave a great future differently, we’ll spend the rest of our lives envying our old self.
Do things differently today because you are different today.
Reason 2: Because nothing’s wrong with creating a new normal
I get it. We all miss how things used to be. But realize that finding a new normal doesn’t take away from the good times of the past. You can miss those good ol’ days, but you can’t do anything to actually go back there.
We can learn a lot about ourselves when we experience new things. Maybe this new normal can help you learn more about yourself, like how you’re stronger and more capable than you ever knew.
Reason 3: Because you have full control over your reactions
How you react to whatever challenges you face can either make or break you. Everyone faces challenges and setbacks. The ones who overcome them and were able to turn lemons into lemonade were the ones who understood that change had to be embraced. (I totally wasn’t thinking about that Budweiser hard lemonade commercial.)
You can either yell at the curveball (err…lemons) to go away (aka complain and resist and cry under a table) or you can follow the curveball and see what new direction it takes you you roll.
Curveballs aren’t all bad
Hopefully, the next time life throws you a curveball (lemon), you’ll think back on this post and remember that it’s better to just adjust to it rather than try to resist because:
- Your life is different now.
- Nothing’s wrong with creating a new normal.
- You have full control over your reactions.
Pandemic type curveballs aside, over the years, I’ve learned that when life changes, I must change, too. It’s gotten easier over time to just bump along this roller coaster of life when I accept that curveballs will happen. The longer I resist them, the longer it takes for me to get back on track.
Having that frame of mind, that mindset going into 2020 and all that unfolded, I’m certain that’s why I was able to have an easier time adapting to all the changes. Sure, it was annoying, but there was little I could do about much of what happened. I somehow kept that attitude about it and made adjustments as necessary. (That doesn’t mean I didn’t cry a time or two or three or four, though. I am highly sensitive, after all. It just happens when life gets overwhelming.)
Anyway, from my experience, not all curveballs are bad. And even with that “lemon of a year,” a lot of good happened that I hope I remember as 2020 fades further and further into the distance.
Oh, but I’ll never forget about the whole toilet paper crisis. Nope, that’s engrained forever. *wink*
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