In these trying and uncertain times…
As we navigate uncharted waters…
And face unparalleled challenges…
So, hey. I haven’t blogged for a while, because I’ve been tired. My last post back in January, entitled Rest, feels like it was posted a lifetime ago. And I haven’t blogged because I wasn’t sure what I wanted to say.
I’m watching people I care about go through tough stuff - some related to COVID-19, some nothing to do with the virus - and I’ve realized something.
I actually do have something to say.
A lot to say, actually.
So hey, how’ve you been? This dystopian future we’re living is bizarre, right?
We may each have a date in mind when this began.
January 12, when the genetic sequence was published. Maybe January 31, when the public health emergency was declared. February 29 when the first US resident died, or March 11 when the NBA season was canceled.
We have hope that in another year or two, we will see an end.
Through a combination of a vaccine, frequent testing, and herd immunity, we’ll be on the other side at some point. Things won’t be the same, of course, but we will have made it past the panic and beyond the uncertainty.
Right now, we’re in the middle, which is the hardest part.
The middle is frightening. The middle is confusing, disorienting, and for many of us, pretty lonely. The middle can feel like a nightmare that never ends but just keeps repeating.
So as we trudge through the middle, as we face our unprecedented, unparalleled, tumultuous, uncertain and uncharted future, I’m going to write about some of the ways I’m coping while also sharing the ways in which I come unglued. I’m going to share career advice right along with a big helping of empathy.
It’s important that those go together, for as long as we’re in the middle. The fact that I come unglued on Monday makes it a tiny bit easier for you when you come unglued on Wednesday, because you’re less alone in your ungluedness.
It’s important that the “7 Ways to Get Hired Fast” articles and the “Be Ten Times More Productive Working from Home” listicles don’t make this frightening, confusing, lonely middle even harder than it already is.
For now, I’m going to repeat what a friend messaged me recently because it really helped:
It’s OK to not be OK.
If you’re not devoting the time to your job search that you feel you should… it’s OK.
If you are working at less-than-normal productivity levels, it’s OK.
If some days you’re basically just freaking out, or completely unable to focus, or spending hours upon hours on the internet searching for hand sanitizer (guilty!), that’s OK too.
Tomorrow, or maybe next week, or most likely next month we will tackle our to do lists. The day will come when we find our true calling and pursue our passion. There will be a future day when you will make your dreams a reality, but today…
It’s OK to just get through today. That’s really my only goal these days.
Not to succeed, not to excel, not to shoot for the moon (and of course, land among the stars if plan A doesn’t work).
Just get through today.
Peace, safety, and good health to you and all those you love.
GHOST HUG - you can’t feel it but it’s there. © CC BY-SA 4.0