Building Your New Normal

Last week, I introduced the idea of a new normal. 

As a small business owner, in the midst of this pandemic, I'm not thinking about what's necessary to continue doing what I was doing yesterday. I'm focused on what I can do to prepare for tomorrow. Things won't go back to the way they were, but they will go back to normal. Only, it will be a new normal. It's a good lesson in being attached to a result, not a medium for a result. 

The "new normal" is a topic that has been coming up in a lot of different places, because of the situation in which we all find ourselves. 

These Are Not Unprecedented Times

I've heard a lot of people use the phrase "these are unprecedented times" but they're not. Ignoring how many different industry-disrupting era's we've had (think the Dot Com Bubble), we've also had numerous pandemics, and we're better prepared to handle them today than at any other time in history.  

Here is a short video from Simon Sinek that I thought was relevant, well-done, and inspiring. I encourage you to watch it.

 

via Simon Sinek

What Comes Next?

"I'm not worried about what I do, I'm worried about why I do it." - Simon Sinek

After some time, things will go back to "normal." Your goal for today should be to sow the seeds to today that prepare you for that day. I'll backtrack a step and acknowledge, if you're struggling to survive, survival comes first. Regardless, you need to make sure you're asking yourself the right questions.

When you ask better questions, you get better answers. 

What will you need when it's back to business as usual? How can you help others better themselves through this period? Who can you help?

If the theme for right now is building a new normal, one of my life's themes is the belief in moonshots and exponential thinking. 

Your response to this pandemic should be the same as your response to disruptive innovation. 

You should be attracted to a result, not a medium, and paying attention to how you can capitalize on the wave. 

Blockbuster, RadioShack, Kodak, all went out of business due to shortsighted myopia in the face of change. 

Opportunity or Chaos ... You get to decide!

Onward!