The “Next Normal”
As I was thinking about what to write this week, I came across an article focused on "the next normal" for organizations. It made me start thinking about us as individuals. In a post several weeks ago, I was talking about the "new normal" and what it means for all of us...how do we use this time to reflect on what our "normal" has become and evaluate if it's what we want long-term. But, more and more, I've come to realize that planning for a "new normal" is not actually a new thing for us to do. Because of the shock of how this occurred, we've forgotten that we've had to define our "normal" many times before.
We experience a "new" or "next" normal whenever we move homes, switch schools or jobs, get married, have a child or the next child, or start a new activity. All of those things change how we experience our life - what our schedules are like, who we interact with, when or how we commute, etc. The key difference now is that the whole world is experiencing this change with us at the same time. So...what have we learned from those past experiences that we can use now?
3 key words come to mind for me: Adaptability, Nimbleness, and Resiliency. When I googled the definitions, here's what I found:
Adaptable is defined as "able to adjust to new conditions."
Nimble is defined as "being quick and light in movement or action; agile; or (of the mind) quick to comprehend."
Resilient is defined as "able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions."
We have all had practice at these three behaviors throughout our lives though we may grade ourselves differently on how well we think they describe us. The world as it has recently shifted will require us to take these behaviors to the next level. We will need to keep pushing ourselves to be more comfortable and better at being those things in order to adjust as the world keeps changing.
We could stay focused on the many things that we don't know right now...
We don't know when a vaccine may be available;
We don't if antibodies will protect us for a short period of time or a long period of time;
We don't know what school or recreational activities will look like in the near future or longer term;
We don't know when the economy will bounce back and what it will mean for those that are unemployed or underemployed right now;
And a myriad of other pending questions.
But, we do know that we're able to make plans for the normal in which we're living in today.
We know how to create a schedule that ensures that we can best cover all of the different activities that need to happen each week.
We know how to make quick adjustments to our work schedules to accommodate unplanned situations;
We know how to draw on our friends, families, and colleagues for best practices or new ideas on everything from how to keep meals simple or interesting to entertaining small children while you're on work conference calls or best home workout classes.
We know how to draw on our internal strength for the energy we need each day - sleep, meditation, prayer, healthy eating, etc.
We know what has worked for us when change has hit us before...and what didn't work at all or for very long.
If we're really honest with ourselves, we will recognize that we have been nimble and resilient and adaptable for the past 8 weeks or so. We have been people able to shift quickly, to rebound, to quickly understand what's happening and what needs to change. Have we always had A+ performance? Likely not unless you're a super-human but we have grown and learned from this experience already. We were able to successfully create our "next normal" quickly. Are there things we want to keep adjusting - probably, and that's normal. We may always want to be in the loop of design/develop, test, modify as needed, operate, and repeat.
We will always need to be ready to create and thrive in our "next normal" because change will continue to be a reality of our lives. If we focus on adapting to the situation at hand, being willing to shift without hanging on to the old, and bouncing back when things don't go as we want or expect, I think we will thrive every time we move to a "next normal." We should recognize that, just like the phases of our life shift, so must our expectations of our "normal." If we're regularly considering the best version of our "normal," I hope we will find more joy than pain in our lives.
My "next normal" hopefully involves athletic activities for my kids, time sitting on a beach and looking at the ocean, plenty of time to do creative work, and cocktails and meals with my friends and family where we're not on video or sitting spread apart on a driveway. I don't know when those things will start to be in my "next normal" but I know that I'm looking forward to thriving when it comes.
What's likely in your "next normal?"