Figuring Out What You Really Want Out of (Post-Pandemic) Life
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Is it just me, or does anyone else feel a little bit off lately? The pandemic, at least in the U.S., seems to be winding down thanks to the vaccine rollout. By most accounts, we are beginning to transition back into life as we knew it. After about 15 months of limited options, we now have a wide array of options on how we spend our free time, and professional time too!
I’ve been vocal about the importance of being proactive in life and making choices that tie to a desired outcome, and this is where I’ve recently hit the wall. Pandemic life was about survival mode; it was a year of existing, but not thriving, at least in my experience. In fact, pandemic life may have created new routines and habits that may not be conducive to building a fulfilling life. For every new hobby that was discovered, were there any hobbies that fell by the wayside? As much as I enjoy the lack of commute in my work week, does remote-work life hinder the development of professional relationships?
It’s so easy to fall into autopilot and stay on a well-worn course, but now, on the cusp of what feels like a new beginning, it’s time to reassess life as it looks today and the path ahead. If you’re feeling like I am, here are a few questions to get you started on what you want out of post-pandemic life:
What are your core values? Your core values are characteristics and principles that are most important to you. They reflect your true self, and when your core values align with your life and behaviors, you’ll find yourself more content and fulfilled. Identifying your core values may be easier said than done, but once you’ve got your shortlist, it can help bring clarity to situations where you must make a decision or set priorities. If you’re having trouble identifying your values, it can be helpful to ask those close to you to describe you and/or describe times when they saw you at your happiest. You’ll begin to see the pieces come together, and from there, you can narrow down the values that resonate the most.
Examples of core values to get you started:
Knowledge
Honesty
Community
Learning
Creativity
Fun
Achievement
Consider “should” vs. “wants”: In life, it can be easy to get caught up in what you should be doing, however, making decisions based on “shoulds”, can lead to unhappiness, burnout, or generally feeling unfulfilled. Of course, there are going to be situations where you will need to make decisions based on what you should do, and there is nothing wrong with that. Where it gets complicated is if you’re building your life solely based on what you should do, and ignoring what you want to do.
Do you want to prioritize climbing the corporate ladder, or is that what you think you should be doing? Do you want to stay in that relationship, or does it seem like the right decision because you’ve invested so much time into it? Assessing your “shoulds” vs. “wants” does not necessarily require an action, but it can help you see if you’re on the right path or if there are areas that would benefit from a change.
Take some time to dream: Life can be stressful, but if you can, take some time to pause, reflect, and dream. If you were free to spend your time in any way that you wished, what would you do? If all careers paid the same salary, what would you do for work? Hopefully, through this exercise, you’ll find some common threads between your dream life and your real life, but if you don’t, you’ve at least identified some new ideas to explore.
They say that life is what you make it, so don’t forget to be intentional, be free to change your mind, and have some fun along the way. As for me, I’ll be taking my own advice. I’ve got some work to do!
