Do something quickly with me, will you? Breath in….breath out…..breath in…..breath out…..there, feel any better? I truly hope so. Finding balance and taking just a minute to assess, breathe and calm ourselves seems like such a treat these days, doesn’t it? Is it just me or have you also noticed a frantic rush to everyone these days? I can’t really explain it accurately, but between articles, posts, comments and graphics, it just seems like we’re quickly heading back to the hamster in a wheel mentality that we were all swimming in pre-pandemic, and you know what? It saddens me, it truly does.
What I want to know is, who flipped the light switch and made this happen? Let me steal a few minutes of your time and see if I can clarify a bit more. It seemed to me in the middle of 2020 or so, there was a realization of the Mad Hatter lifestyle we were living, rushing here, rushing there, gotta be somewhere 5 minutes ago mentality. There was a weird badge of honor in proclaiming “Sorry, I can’t make it happen, way too busy” or “I don’t know where the weekend went, is it Sunday already?!” And then somewhere in the middle of 2020, we seemed to hit pause or we stopped and collectively said enough! No more of the rat race, no more running to and fro, no more feeling like we’re falling behind, no more feeling like we’re not doing enough, not being enough, not sacrificing enough. In the middle of 2020, it seemed like we stopped that busy talk and took a collective breath and celebrated just “being”. Being in the moment. Being in the present. Being with ourselves and our loved ones. Just being.
We also seemed to take stock of what brought us joy both personally and professionally. For many of us, we began to take inventory of what we wanted out of our careers and we weren’t afraid to take a hard look at where we were headed and if our current career path and even if our current company, wasn’t providing the change we wanted for ourselves, we were finding the strength to make moves to pivot into what would. Of course for many the choice wasn’t ours to make as layoffs and terminations were sadly increasing in many industries. However, I noticed that even for some of you, who after being let go, used that time to reassess and re-evaluate your career paths, and looked at this challenging turn of events as possibly a blessing in disguise, that produced the time or permission to ask the hard questions that maybe were ignored or pushed aside, because we were too busy to acknowledge them before. I can appreciate that that’s a pretty bold statement and I am by no means trying to sugar coat what was and continues to be a difficult time for many. All I can speak to is my observations and feelings. To be honest with you, I enjoyed this new renaissance and welcomed the deep dive advice and discussions into what was driving us and where we wanted to steer our ship moving forward. Maybe it had more to do with the fact that I had begun to wonder about my own career path and I began to ask those questions of myself when this all came about.
However, lately it's beginning to feel like we are slowly turning back to that mad dash lifestyle that many of us waved good-bye to in 2020. Sadly, I’m starting to see more articles, posts, and discussions engaging in that rush-rush vibe that are centered around finding that perfect job, nailing that interview, steps to take to be more marketable, how to write better, how to manage our time better, how to lead better, how to up our remote/hybrid game, the do’s and don'ts of transitioning back to the office, how to be a better team player, how to be more empathetic, more inclusive, more sensitive, more confident, more, more, more! Whew! I’m exhausted just typing that and I think you can see where I’m going with this.
My one wish would be for us to please, not lose sight of the introspection and acceptance that was beginning to bloom a mere 12 months ago. We were making strides, we were exhibiting patience, acceptance and clarity and it was so incredibly refreshing. If 2020 taught us anything, it's that Unpredictable and her twin sister Hindsight, usually enter the party together and what happens at that point, is anyone’s guess. I understand that life moves on and we need to keep the train running, but I truly hope we will be able to retain some of the moments and pauses that we so successfully gained not too long ago, as I think there is also strength in those reflective moments.
Now it’s your turn! I would love to hear from you. Do you feel we’ve lost something along the way that needs finding? Do you also feel the rush-rush vibe creeping back into your work lives too?
Share your thoughts by clicking the Get In Touch button above or click the microphone in the corner and leave me a voicemail and let's continue the conversation.
