Moving Toward Your New Normal - What is your Criteria for Saying Yes?
Have you noticed how people talk about when things get “back to normal?” That phrase has had me pondering since the beginning of COVID… Will we ever reach normal again? What does that even mean and do we want to?
No denying that this time has been terribly difficult and even tragic in many ways for many people and continues to be. We also need to make space for the deep grieving and sadness that is occurring and is essential to moving forward. With that being said, I also see that we have an opportunity to co-create a new normal with the universe that fulfills our deepest desires.
We’ve been given a perspective on life that has been eye opening in a lot of ways. There is an opportunity to re-define what we add back into our lives in a conscious and deliberate way. I encourage you to ask yourself what you have learned about yourself during this pandemic. What might you have been taking for granted and what are you happy to let go of?
Some examples from my own experience:
Took for granted: time alone, the power of accountability that accompanies working out at a gym with others in classes, focused and uninterrupted work-time, & girls nights out (thank God for Marco Polo).
Letting go of: my husband’s commute (he has 2 hours per day of his life back and with us), back to back activities and weekend plans, and face to face meetings - it can all get accomplished over zoom.
I’ve had two opportunities lately (COVID and a major surgery) to clear my schedule and then add important things back in with intention. The lens that I now look through to determine if it will go on the calendar is clear and simple. How will I feel afterward? Does it fuel me and/or fill me with joy or drain me and leave me feeling depleted? For those “must do” things that have to get done even though they don’t fill me up, it’s crucial to buffer those items with either white space (i.e. nothing on the calendar for a good chunk of time) OR something that will fill me back up like a self care activity afterward.
What is your criteria? What are your non-negotiables? What are your “hell - yes’s” and what are you ready to say no to more often? Send me a DM on social media or email me at ks@kristinswansonconsulting.com with your ‘new normal calendar criteria’!
