I’m feeling kinda philosophical today. I’m having big thoughts, and I don’t quite know how to express them yet fully, but I’m giving it a go.
And I’m aware that what I have written below feels kind of like a speech or lecture, it’s a talk I’m giving to myself, as much as to you, dear reader.
Because there was soul-enriching beauty that came out of all those lockdowns, however awful they were at the time. Like the pandemic was the manure to our roses (our lives). Yeah, our feet were covered in metaphorical shit but the roses we grew were spectacular.
And I feel like it could all wither away if we’re not careful.
So here we go.
Just like the pandemic was a snap that changed our reality and flung us all into a new direction, we are now experiencing forces that are pulling us back into life of the “before times”.
Traffics jams are back. We’re being dragged back into offices. We’re going out and about and being in crowded spaces, elbow to elbow, and not as a greeting.
Life is getting faster again.
And in this speed, there’s a big pull, from many directions, for us to continue to live as we did before the pandemic.
It’s so easy to get back into the rat race that many of us were in pre-pandemic.
But wait a minute. Just pause for a second before you get back in that rat race.
The pandemic forced us all to stop and get off the bus.
You took time to stop and look at where you were, how you were living your life, and how you were working. You looked at the whole system and knew that it was crazy.
You experienced a new way of working and living. Came to realise what your actual priorities are, how you really want to live.
And it’s not like in the before times. You changed and experienced some kind of liberation, different for each person.
You don’t want to go back into that rat race.
Yet there are a lot of people out there who are afraid of change, who have been waiting for their chance to go back to life as it was. To go back tho the “good old days”.
And they are putting in a lot of effort to get the whole world to go back to that version of life that benefitted them. Where they were happy, but you were not.
And they are trying to drag you back with them. Drag us all back.
I can feel it. The speeding up. The “let’s cram everything we can back into our days”. The busyness.
You can feel it too, right?
I get a feeling that this period right now is actually going to be the time that transforms our lives. It will transform your life.
You had realisations about your life during the pandemic and you made changes for the good. Made your life better, more meaningful, more how you wanted it.
Are you going to hold on to that?
If you want to hold on to it, you have to do it deliberately. You have to know what it is you want to save, and then protect it.
This is part of my Thought Piece Series, where I explore topics related to leadership and provide both answers and questions. My intention is to start meaningful conversations that help us move forward. Want to connect? Click here