When I think through these different perspectives on "enough," I land on the need to know deeply what I want in my life, what fills me up, what drains me, where I want to spend my time.

Have you ever thought about why you're doing something? What motivates you to take an action, react a certain way or make a specific decision? Often, I believe it ends up being a default reaction...we do what we've always done or what we think we should do. How often do you really consider why?

We all have many memories that stand out for us related to life milestones - births, marriages, graduations, first dates, promotions, first home purchases, deaths, etc.  We also have memories of special moments with our friends or our family members.  We have memories of painful experiences - both physical and emotional - major illnesses and injuries, relationship break ups, job loss, or work failures.  The one thing in common is that those experiences and our memories of them have helped shape who we are today.  Each of those experiences taught us something about the world around us or how we react to celebrations and crises.

Some people live for running. That's not me. It's not natural for me. My first attempt at running was pre-season high school cross-country. My friends were doing it so I figured I would give it a try. I lasted a few days (maybe) and ended up with sprained ankles. That was the beginning and end of my running experience until early into my 40s.

This season of life is bringing unexpected challenges for all of us.  Some challenges are somewhat normal in that we see them often in our world (relationships not working out, family members getting sick, loss of a job, etc.) but that doesn't make them less challenging.  They're exacerbated when you're in the middle of a global pandemic without clarity on when you might be safe to do some of the things that bring you joy like taking a trip to somewhere new or going to a concert or even just hosting a large family celebration.

It’s a variation of the age-old glass half-full or half-empty question. Do you lean towards pessimism or optimism? We’re usually not fully one or the other, but often we lean in one direction. I think the ideal is being a bit of a realist...hoping or believing that things will go well but realistic that things will not always be sunshine and rainbows.

Google's definition of hindsight is an "understanding of a situation or event only after it has happened or developed." When we look back on our experiences, we have perfect vision...we see the choices we made, the choices we wish we had made, the outcomes that we experienced. When we have this clarity, we shouldn't waste it on "should have dones" or celebrations for making the right choices but more on how to use the outcomes to help us in the go-forward.

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?

What are you most looking forward to when restrictions start to lift?

I'm ready for a change of scenery and for more in-person connection. I've been using some of this time trying to figure out what I want my life to look like when I have the freedom of choice back on where I go and who I'm with. Through that reflection, I've also been thinking about what I miss most/what makes me sad and what have been the positives of this extra time at home. It's been an interesting exercise for me because I learned some things I may not have if this crisis hadn't occurred because some things have not been major shifts for us.

My ask for all of us: For every action or communication we're making during this crisis (and ideally afterwards), pause and reflect..."How do I inject the right amount of "heart" into this," particularly if it's something that will impact individuals negatively.