Forget the "New Normal"

 I have to say  hearing the phrase “well it’s the new normal”  makes me want to scream.  Not sure why.  Perhaps because we aren’t close to stability or that we are tone deafly marching forward in denial, but either way it has joined my list  of most hated phrases.   So today, rather than claiming things are  back to normal, I thought reminder of where we are at might be in order.

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Transcript

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In life, we have two choices, to experience or to exist. Every week, each of us makes that choice to either seek a better way to live or to get by walk alongside me each week on the strive seek find podcast as we continue to seek our own brilliant future. We talk about the new normal a lot. What the hell was the old normal? And what was so damn good about it? Welcome and strive seek fine podcast. I'm your host chance Whitmore. I have to say hearing the phrase, well, it's the new normal makes me want to scream. I'm not sure why. Perhaps because we're not close to stability. Or that we're tone definitely marching forward in denial. But either way, there's joy in my list of most hated phrases. So today, rather than claiming things are back to normal, I thought I'd remind everyone of where we're at, and what might be in order. Now let's get started. Now, let's go back to what we used to call the good old days, high intensity, high expectations. Results must ever be increasing, do more, do it faster, do it better, go go, go, go, go, go go. You have to be productive, you have to be available all the time, you have to do more, to the point where taking a vacation seems to be a misnomer. And even when you have time off, there's something creeping up on you at work. Great example of this was, I can remember listening to a sports talk radio guy call it on as a guest on his own show, because something big had happened in the sports world, because you got to have your hot take. Then during shutdown, we all had to take stock. Figure out how to fill our life. Even as we worked. Some of us working from home, some from work, some form of work, some out of work, all of us figuring out how to make things work. And it was different. And so how we filled time was different. And what became important, also was different. And that wasn't always bad, folks. I mean, the fact that we spent more time realizing that we were talking at each other than to each other in many cases, is a pretty big deal. The fact that it made us realize how many of the most important things in life, we were letting slip away. Also important. And now we're into the next piece of change, not calling it after, because by no means is it over. The rules have changed again, and will change further. But there are still challenges facing everyone in figuring out how to move life forward. Maybe that's why things have gotten so reactionary. People are grasping for control wherever they can find it. And so the rabbit holes on the internet just get that much deeper. We're trying to go back to the previous pace of play. Only with new rules, and with them new stress. And a lot of times the less people around you. Let's take for example, going out to a new restaurant. If you're fortunate enough to live someplace where there's something open. Traditionally you go out you have good food, nice ambience, a friendly server. The drawbacks, services slow, really slow. like you'd probably walk out of the restaurant three years ago slow. You arrive at the restaurant to be seated. No one's the greeting station, and it takes several minutes. Keep in mind, I didn't notice a help wanted sign in this restaurant like I have in 90% of the other ones I've driven past. After you get seated. It's another 10 minutes to get water and then another five to get a greeting from your actual server. The flustered busboy brings a couple of glasses of wine to your table, only to discover that you didn't order them because nobody's really taken an order yet. Watch the busboy after those glasses three other tables before he finds where it needs. To go. Then he heads back to the bar to get directions because he doesn't know what else to do. Finally, the harried server returns to give us a great rundown of the menu and take drink orders. As you look around, it appears that the owner, two servers and our busboy are running the floor while Zishan sings in the corner. at your table, you have plenty of time to discuss the next housing project, possibly with trepidation, possibly with excitement. And plan for it while waiting for the food to arrive. Now, folks, nobody did anything wrong here. They were busting ass. And if you apply across, apply this and take it out of a restaurant, you can probably think of something in your own work life that is similar things that were thoughtlessly efficient and quick. They aren't anymore. There are a lot of work, possibly because of less people, possibly because of new rules. This is the world we're living in now. Pre pandemic we were so accustomed to both fast and efficient. In the case of the restaurant, you're used to lightning quick water refills. Instant seating. If you drop a fork, you're used to having another one in your hand before it stops ringing on the flooring below you. That's not what we live in now. You can't count on an hour for dinner, so that you can make a seven o'clock movie. The food wasn't the point it was the step in a series of events that you were going for for an evening. Now we have to live at a slower pace, not because we want to because we have to. And I'm not sure that's a bad thing. There are fewer servers, fewer cooks, fewer boy busboys, all of them running heart, fewer items on the menu as it were. And we should enjoy it. Enjoy this pace of play. Savor the moment savor the food, embrace life at a slower pace. Maybe that's the gift we need to explore in the coming months. So past practice isn't going to work anymore. We don't have the resources around us. We don't have the stability. We're seeing the cracks and frayed edges in our own society. We need to remember on some level, we're going to be dealing with this situation, or cleaning up after it for years. So what do we do instead? Change needs to be a personal thing. You need to evaluate your work. You need to evaluate life. Ask what's important to keep during the times in flux. Know what you need to flush away. For me, it's the realization I could stay busy 20 473 65 but I was losing valuable time with my family, if I chose to do so. It was that moment that I stopped living on my email on the weekends I stopped doing the important but not critical things on most weekends and became more present in what was important. What would that be for you? How do you get there? Please let me know. shoutouts thanks to everyone who reached out and checked on my family after last week's episode. My daughter's still doing great. I'm doing much better. I will say I need my energy to come back. But apparently that's gonna take a while. worth mentioning this week's worth mentioning is a book that caught my attention due to a journalist when I respect suggesting it in one of his columns. The book is when breath becomes air by Paul kalna thenI. It's a heart rending memoir of a man on the edge of having everything as a doctor and neuroscientist only to have cancer changes course. It's the story of living despite life's challenges, a story of triumph in the face of adversity and a heart rending story nonetheless, trust me, it's more than worth checking out. And that concludes this edition of strive seek find. Thank you for listening. If you enjoyed the episode, or would just like to support the podcast. Here are a few ways you can do it. You can leave a review on Apple podcasts or pod chaser. They will help bring more listeners to the podcast. If that isn't your style, you can buy me a coffee or purchase some merchandise. Links ar in the podcast desc Finally, if you have ideas or feedback, please reach out to the strive seek find page on Facebook or @chancewhitmore5 on Twitteron Twitter. Until next time, keep seeking your own brilliant future. Have a great day.