Normal for Now
Our worlds have been churning in change for the past 18 months. Are you as sick as I am of hearing about ‘the new normal?’
Just when we think we can resume our regular lives, something else changes. As human beings, we strive for the familiar and tend to experience more positive emotions when we feel in control of our circumstances. As the world feels like it’s spinning out of control, I’ve adopted a new mindset: ‘normal for now.’
I don’t have a crystal ball to see what’s coming next or know how long it will be before some other big change is going to ask us to adapt, pivot, or be resilient.
‘Normal for now’ assumes that we know where we are today and for the immediate short term. As soon as we have more information that will require us to make additional changes or adaptations, we’ll move to the next aspects of ‘normal for now.’
Make Change Your Friend
In a recent conversation with corporate anthropologist, author, and speaker, Dr. Andi Simon, we talked about change. Dr. Simon advocates for us to make, ‘change our friend.’ “Humans hate change. The human mind is very happy when it doesn't have unfamiliar things inside it. The mind does exactly what it thinks you want it to do. It loves the familiar. It loves habits. It is very efficient and it follows your own story. However, things change. The pandemic was a perfect illustration of how we can, in a moment, have our lives turned upside down.
The brain creates cortisol when it's learning something new or has to change. This causes us to temporarily feel awful. We've learned that you can make change your friend by turning your mind from, ‘Oh, this is bad’ to, ‘Oh, this is good!’ Every time your mind says, ’No, that's not the way we do it,’ say, ’Yes, that's a good idea!’ Change the voice, change the location and begin to see the possibilities of the new.
The pandemic has been a catalyst for drastic change. If you make change your friend, your mind says, ‘That's interesting.’ And when you start to accept and embrace change, you’ll open your mind to the opportunities that change can bring and be more likely to adapt and move forward. “
Well-Being Benefits of ‘Normal for Now’
Adopting the mindset of change suggested by Dr. Simon supports your well-being which is linked to autonomy, our sense of control, and our resilience.
Our well-being improves when we recognize our autonomy in any situation. While we may not feel that we have autonomy or a sense of control when things are unknown or chaotic around us, there are choices we can make that will provide both a positive mindset and beneficial outcomes. I’ve spoken with many people who were at first panicked about the pandemic and remote work, only to then recognize that with no commute and more flexibility in their work hours, they had time to exercise or be with family in ways they couldn’t before.
In the workplace, taking a ‘normal for now’ approach can help reduce stress and anxiety for employees. When organizations adopt ‘normal for now’ communication approaches, they transparently share current information and how the organization is using it to make decisions. The cadence of communication sets expectations for the next update. Early in the pandemic, some of our clients adopted a daily communication cadence, for others it was weekly. Employees then knew what to expect and looked forward to receiving the communications.
Adopting a ‘normal for now’ approach can help us focus on the present and support our resilience to do the best we can right now.
