The New Normal Doesn't Exist, Welcome to Adapting to the New
The business world has been talking about a "new normal" since the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. I, too, have caught myself using the term more frequently then I should.
Although I feel strongly towards using another term, a recent article published by the WEF highlighted that the coined term "the new normal," is a clear way of expressing that things will never be the same as they were before. They say that by using the phrase, we cause ourselves to reimagine where we were previously relative to where we are now, appropriating our present as the standard — so welcome to the new world order…to an extent.
Although I agree that the term is clear to understand, it is not the mindful approach to this new situation we are presently living. As more time passes, the pandemic's effects are unfolding; it's easy to say that history indeed repeats itself, hence the deception of calling this current state of change a new normal.
"The New Normal" is and will be anything but ordinary, and I'm realizing more and more that the transformation around us won't stop producing constant changes to which the world will have to continue to adapt.
So how can we talk about a new normal, when in reality, in life, there is nothing steady, nor a consolidated baseline from which we can reassess the situation and adapt our businesses.
Life is unstable. A new pandemic, a cyber-attack, or a climate change-related event are examples of events that cannot be predicted and can, in mere seconds, disrupt our lives and businesses.
How do we manage instability? Well, by being mindful of the world around us and accepting that most things are well beyond our control, reiterating the concept of "que sera, sera."
We have to put our inner fears on the side, and be conscious and learn that this is a world where we all need to learn how to adapt to unexpected changes. Being stuck in a mindset where we think that now things are back to normal, pretending that nothing will change for a while, is deceptive and stops us from thinking outside of the box, blocking our creativity to plan forward with room for change.
If we don't metabolize this approach, we may only end up living our lives and managing our business on the presumption that problems resolve themselves. This idea is a fallacy and a dangerous way of thinking.
This unrealistic approach impacts many businesses and industries out there! So, we should stop using "the new normal" and learn how to do life's hard work.
Written by: Federico Foli
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