Change Is the Only Constant

Where Were You When...
There's been a lot of talk this week about the past four years. Where were you when - the world seemed to come to a sudden stop. What did you do during the COVID-19 lockdown? There's life before COVID - and life after COVID. It was one of those "flashbulb memory" events, like where were you on 9-11, when President Kennedy was killed, when Elvis died, and when the space shuttle Challenger went down.

How Did You Spend Your Days?
Home. We were all home! It was a crazy time. Just as so many wish for time at home, forced time at home was a different matter! We were all suddenly "toddlers," going stir crazy, not sure how to occupy ourselves, raging against the world for "having" to stay home. I was actually grateful for the radical shift in time.

• I had infinite time home with my family - such a blessing!
• We baked, had fire pits/camp fires in our back yard. 
• We read, played games, talked, baked - lots of baking and cooking!
• We learned how to do school at home on computers with two high school students. 
• Husband's job became a week home/a week in the office as staff "distanced." 
• We learned how to be "social" on our computers and phones to connect with friends and family.

What Changed?
We're not going to touch on good, bad, or indifferent. Simply - different. A lot changed.

• Seeing folks wear masks in public is not unusual or without reason now.
• There's hopefully a bit more caution with cold and flu symptoms, washing hands a bit more, staying home when under the weather.
• "Zoom" and online meeting platforms continue. 
• Attitudes about work changed. I went from being a hospital physical therapist to becoming an entrepreneur.
• "Work life balance" and "self care" became important words. I know I strive for better balance than life before COVID.
• We got far more sensitive to mental health concerns. Isolation was difficult for many.
  
• We discovered a lot of cracks in many of our large institutions including education and healthcare.

Change Is the Only Constant
This was one of those events that tested all of us in a number of ways. Some lost family members, health, jobs, careers, and a way of life. Change tests us and demands flexibility and adaptability. Change is as constant as Time. To change is to grow. It may not be everyone's favorite thing to do, especially in the moment, but it undeniably brings growth if you let it. It tests and creates "grit." 

​How Do YOU Deal with Change?

• Is change easy for you? Do you flex and float and roll with the waves? 
• Is it hard? Do you fight it tooth and nail?
• Do you put your head down and dig deeper to aim for better?

If change is the only constant, what have you been changing? Are you growing? Maybe developing grit? Love to hear how you handle change!

And "where were you when the world stopped turning..." for an equally stunning "flashbulb memory." (thank you, Alan Jackson!)

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