These days, I feel like we are caught in a global spin cycle. It can be difficult to get your bearings in a world where life as you knew it has been turned on its head. It’s time for us to talk about the new norms.

The Value Of Time

I finally got the memo that we are here for a finite amount of time. Tomorrow isn’t promised to any of us, and I think that the pandemic has taught me that anything is possible.

I’ve taken a lot of time to think about what I want to do with this one life I’ve been given. I realize now that the sky is the limit. A few years back, I had a serious health scare, and I knew that if God gave me another chance I was going to make it count.

This meant…

Living Vs. Surviving

I needed to be intentional about living and thriving vs. simply surviving. As a single parent, I was constantly in survival mode. I felt like I needed to make sure that I was covering all of my bases. Years passed quickly, and I put my own self-development on ice.

Now I know that with the time that we do have, it’s important to be happy and chase your passions, no matter what you have going on.

If you are only surviving, you will be caught in an endless loop of putting out fires. When you are truly living you are showing up fully each day. You are living, setting goals, and enjoying all of the blessings that you have been given.

Who Gets Your Time

My new norms are also about being more decisive about who I spend time with. Being that I’m all about bringing more positivity into my life, if you are toxic you have to go.

I also know that it’s okay to say no or opt out of activities that are of little or no interest to me. I used to allow people to guilt me into attending certain events that I knew I would be miserable at. Nowadays, I say no upfront and it frees me from kicking myself later for agreeing in the first place.

The bottom line is that I fill my time with the people and activities that enrich me.

Chaos Is Normal

No matter where you live in this world, chaos is the new norm. Every day presents a new global crisis and there are so many things that are truly beyond our control.

I now understand that a chaotic world is the new normal. The turmoil is here to stay. I don’t say this in a naive way, as I’m fully aware that there have been many horrific events happening for centuries. I just believe that we’ve reached a point where peace will be out of our reach for a long while.

In light of this, I think that we need to be stewards of our own calm. We have to do our best to create peace within our home environments to filter out all of the external stressors. For me, this means turning my attention to activities that will enrich me and contribute to my community in a way that will make the world a better place.

We may not be able to stop some of the bad things from happening, but when we actively contribute to a peaceful environment, the light that we put out there can collectively change the world.

If you have time, check out my previous post ” Going Inward In 3 Steps” https://herpicketfence.com/going-inward-in-3-steps/

❤️ Stephanie