WHAT IF TOMORROW……….?

What if tomorrow requires us to think differently, act differently, live differently, be different? 

Isn’t this just what happened with the Covid lockdown? Overnight, without any advance warning, almost everything that we had become used to in our lives, changed. In fact, our ability to adapt was challenged in almost every area and at every level of our lives.

It is a known fact that the majority of people do not like rapid or dramatic change, and here we had this tsunami of change sweeping over us with nowhere to run. Suddenly, we were living in a post apocalypse world, perhaps not physically, but certainly emotionally, and many of those things that we would normally have done to cope are no longer available to us, whether it be getting together to have a meal with friends, a long walk in nature, a workout at the gym, a night out at the theatre, a weekend away, all suddenly are gone.

In addition, we now sit in a situation where we do not know what tomorrow will bring, we cannot predict, even in a small way, the future normal.

This is probably the biggest brain shock in the lives of most people, after the mental gymnastics thrown at us by isolation and lockdown.

How then do we confront and overcome this challenge, or in simpler terms, how do we re- normalise?

Firstly, we must look at things to see, realistically, what are likely to go back to our normal, and what are not, in our individual lives. Some have lost loved ones, some have lost work, businesses or livelihoods and all that goes along with it. What does this change in circumstances mean and how can we handle it.

Secondly, we must separate those circumstances over which we have control from those over which we do not and invest our mental and physical energies on those which we can influence.

Thirdly, we must create new habits that will help us move forward, habits that begin with changing our mental approach first, in order to overcome the emotional resistance that keeps wanting to arise,

Then we must start working out, and working on, those new skills that we will need going forward. 

Sadly, unlike the dramatic events that caused our lives to change, this probably will not happen overnight, but, with consistent and focussed effort we will be able to get there. Yes, it will be hard. Yes, it will be challenging. Yes, it will require some blood sweat and tears. But the results may well place us in a better position than we were before, even if we cannot foresee that now.

There is a strength in human beings that is found in no other aspect of nature, the strength and power of the human mind, created in the image of God. Use it well, and to your advantage, by taking control, slowly if necessary, of your thoughts as they arise. By changing them, you will be able to change your words and your actions, and ultimately, your future normal.