new [NORMAL]
I am a person of habits and routines for my personal and professional lifestyle. I enjoy meal prepping, I plan out my day, I hang with the same crowd, I have the same interests, etc. I do a lot of things out of comfortability. Now don’t get me wrong, I love experimenting, traveling, and engaging in spontaneous activities; however, I have my routines and enjoy living by them.
Because of the virus, I’ve found myself battling the new adjustment of what life is. I was working from home, live-streaming church with no one in the audience, stopped engaging in social activities with my friends and family...everything stopped. Even before quarantine, I was adjusting to new friends, new job opportunities, and a new lifestyle outside of graduate school. Everything was shifting.
Sometimes we tend to reject change because it scares us; it takes us away from our comfort zone; it shines light on things we have hidden for years; it strips us away from people and things that were seasonal to prepare us for what's to come. Change is most definitely scary but it is good.
I am having a hard time adjusting to my new normal because I cannot stomach the idea of having to continue life without what used to be my normal. Resisting change can create friction in your heart and your life. It can keep you from showing and receiving gratitude. It can detour you to focus on the negative and your past more so than on the positive and your future. It can cause pain and struggle instead of joy and peace. The good news is that with a new normal comes a new routine. Here are a few ways to deal with the new normal in your life:
ASSESS IT: Assess and evaluate your new normal. Get to know it. Get to understand it. With understanding comes optimism.
ACCEPT IT: This is your new normal. Accept it for what it is and deal with it. Once you accept your normal, you will be able to live with it. How do you deal with it? Get a planner, set an alarm, create daily or weekly to-do lists, and surround yourself with a crew of people who will flow with your new normal while holding you accountable along the way.
ADJUST WITH IT: Your old ways may not go with your new normal. Your old crowd may not be able to exist in your new normal, so be sure to adjust in all areas of your life to be mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically prepared for your new normal.
Adjusting to a new normal is a process, and it is a process you must be patient with. If you set a routine in place and establish healthy boundaries, you will be able to walk through this process with confidence!
"THE TIME TO HEAL IS NOW, AND THIS NOW HAS NEVER EXISTED BEFORE." - Cassidy Aspen Cochran