I’ve got a new mantra:
This notion was inspired recently when I got out of my car and started to walk to a restaurant to meet a friend for lunch. Halfway across the parking lot I stopped when I realized I didn’t have a mask, started to turn around to go and get one, then stopped – again – and reminded myself that masking is over. I then made my move to the restaurant, all the while declaring to myself that I guess the pandemic is over.
Now, I know that’s not the case. But while I waited for my friend to meet me, I wondered what aspects of the pandemic were in the past. It didn’t take long for me to conclude that it was “pandemic thinking.”
I don’t know about you, but during the pandemic I just got used to disappointment, upset expectations, and carefully laid plans being unraveled in a moment’s notice. I fell into a rhythm of accepting that the things I wanted to happen weren’t going to happen. This type of pattern can lead to the unhealthy mindset of settling, which is an awful habit to fall into.
At the table, I decided then and there that I’m sick of less than best … I don’t want to water-down my dreams … and I want to start striving, again, towards what’s possible and what I can directly influence.
So, for me, to turn the corner on pandemic thinking, I needed a mantra – an idea that I could rally behind that would inspire me to believe that what I want matters and shouldn’t be compromised. That was easy to discover: Everything I want in life will happen.
To support this new way of thinking and being, here are the five things I’m doing right now to support this new era of growth:
- Spending time in my mind envisioning my future and giving it as much detail as possible
- Developing clarity with what I want personally, professionally, and for my family and writing it down
- Journaling about what I’m grateful for and writing down what I need to do in the short-term to ensure my long-term vision can be achieved
- Being more assertive with what’s acceptable in my life and what isn’t – and not being afraid to say, “No, I don’t want to do that.”
- Cutting out the unnecessary aspects of life that are distracting (I think I used to spend way too much time being busy for busy sake)
In this spirit, I have questions for you and a challenge:
- What about the pandemic has shaped your thinking – how is it helping or hurting?
- What can you do today to adjust your thinking to get clearer on what it is you want and what you need to do to achieve it?
Additional resources: Download our Pandemic Reflection Journal that will allow you to process your experience to give you the space to write about what you learned and what you’ll apply going forward.
Angie Morgan is the co-founder of Lead Star and the New York Times best-selling author of SPARK: How to Lead Yourself and Others to Greater Success, Leading from the Front, and Bet on You.
