March Madness: The Elephant in the Room

March 2020! Three years ago Covid Lockdown was the result of a once in a century global pandemic. But, what are results of the rush to embrace a “new normal.” What changed in ourselves, our communities and the way we work? If you haven’t worked out in two years, practiced an instrument, or even used a device in a couple of years, it takes a while to warm up, reacclimate. Yet, post covid, we just kind of flipped a switch and entered a new normal. We haven’t taken the time to address the virtual elephant in the room.

I first heard about the virus from either the New York Times or NPR in December of 2019. It was spreading fast and when I flew to Washington DC of rate holidays, I was a little nervous and wondering why more people weren’t talking about it. I have a friend who was pretty much the exact opposite to the point where another friend called her and said, “Look, I know you don’t see up with the last news, but, the country is going into lock down in 2 days.” How and when you found out about covid is telling. Reflect back to when you first heard and what your initial reaction and thoughts were. The lens of the onset of the pandemic can tell us a lot about how we get our news and react to information.

With a new job, you know there is the breaking in period; but there are people and processes to guide you. At the beginning of the pandemic, there was a lot of uncertainty; something most of us don’t deal with well. The lockdown was next level unknown. How long, how to avoid, supply chain shortages. Soon after launched a period of civil unrest. Thinking back, what three things surprised you the most? What if anything did you change?

Post covid, at times it feels we’re being pushed to act like nothing has happened. Yet, it has. We’ve changed a lot of things in our approaches. Usually when we do something new, there is a trial run, give it a go and adjust. Post covid, not so much, Things opened up like a slow trickle.

This week, take a moment and recall covid. While some people had life altering stories, we all experienced, dare I say it, a collective trauma.  But unlike a catastrophic event where people recall the time of day and what they were doing, this has been spread out over three years. Allow yourself to be with your feelings, be it happiness, sadness, joy or exhaustion. For yourself, you can reflect on that what worked and what didn’t, your own lessons learned.