Everything has changed. But now the world is rushing forward, urging you to adapt, forget, and begin again.
Change. Goodbyes.
Whether it’s restarting life after a pandemic, the loss of a loved one, or a change in cultural context, you must face some hard truths. How can you return to life as it was before? Is it even possible to go back to ‘normal’?
This process looks different for everyone. But as the world begins to take the first moves toward healing after crisis, consider these steps and ask yourself, how will you go back to ‘normal’?
Grieve
Pain is ugly and we spend most of our lives trying to avoid it. But if we never recognize loss or hurt, we can never even begin the process to heal or start again. Grief is not only reserved for the loss of a loved one. Give yourself permission to grieve a change of lifestyle, a lost opportunity, or a shift in paradigm.
Grieve. Lament. Weep.
Process
Once you’ve allowed yourself to grieve then you can begin to process the change you’ve experienced. Every time you go through some sort of loss you will have changed. You can’t avoid it. Consider how you have changed. How has your perspective changed? Your habits? Your relationships? Your values? As you continue with your life, be aware of how you might be seeing the world differently.
Process. Consider. Evaluate.
Embrace
This third step is the hardest. Don’t fight this change that you’ve experienced. Here the only course of action is surrender. The world has changed and so have you. So how can you return to ‘normal’? In most cases, you can’t. Embrace that you have changed. Don’t ignore what has happened. Let it shape you- for better, not for worse- and embrace this new paradigm that you have earned.
Adapt. Embrace. Thrive.
