Covid-19 has been a thief.
It has stolen precious lives, careers, businesses, dreams, and experiences.
But it has also given a rare gift.
As vaccinations allow us to slowly return to some degree of normalcy, we have a unique opportunity to choose our post-pandemic lives. After all the stripping away, we can thoughtfully and intentionally decide what we reintroduce into our lives. Rather than running blindly back to our pre-pandemic schedules, routines, and commitments, pause. Consider what the last year of disruption and isolation has taught you about yourself. Who are you really? What are you truly passionate about? What do you actually miss?
These opportunities don’t come along too often, at least not with this level of clarity. Examine your relationships, your hobbies, your commitments, your work. Is there an unhealthy friendship you could choose not to renew? If you enjoyed working from home, could you continue even when the office life returns? Is there a former board, a committee, or an organization that needs to stay in your past? Have you found a new hobby or passion area during the pandemic that you need to save space for moving forward?
In our eagerness to reengage with the world, it will be easy to fill our schedules. Remember that saying yes to one thing often means saying no to everything else. Choose wisely. The coronavirus has taken so much away—seize the rare opportunity it has given to rebuild a better life, schedule, calendar, routine, and relational world. One that’s life-giving. More true to who you really are. If you do, you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.
