What's Going to Change

What's Going to Change

Articles

It’s April 4, 2020. I stopped going to the office on March 13, and according my Captain’s Log, we’re on Day 24 of this self-isolation. I don’t have any symptoms, but I’m assuming I have it and wear a mask whenever I go to grocery shopping (about 1x a week). This either is your reality now and or will be soon.

Coronavirus is the biggest global crisis we’ve had since at least WWII. Possibly ever.

The natural question is “when are things going to get back to normal?”

The problem with this question is that it assume there is a “normal life” that we can all go back to. Even under non-pandemic circumstances, the future is always going to differ from the past in unexpected ways. Under these conditions, we can multiply that by 100x.

  1. Handshakes and hugs as greetings
  2. Elevator etiquette
  3. B2B sales tactics
  4. Concerts and tours
  5. Group fitness classes
  6. Public touchscreens
  7. Health surveillance
  8. Nightlife
  9. Support for universal basic income
  10. Video calls
  11. Masks as fashion pieces
  12. Cooking vs eating out
  13. The Asian diaspora
  14. Meeting other singles
  15. Virtual reality
  16. International travel
  17. Urban vs suburban demographics
  18. Homeschooling
  19. Hand lotion
  20. Live action films/TV

This by no means a complete list.

Everyone of these things are affected by or emerging from Coronavirus. At least 50% of those things will look totally different in in 2022 vs 2019.

Which ones? Hell if I know. You shouldn’t believe anyone who says they do.

What I do know is that our resourcefulness, resilience, and willingness to get uncomfortable, is going to see us through it.

This is a wild time to be alive. Like most of us, I am experiencing elevated levels of worry and existential dread. It’s normal. It’s ok.

Change is the only constant. And if human beings are good at anything, we’re good at adapting. That’s how we took over the planet, and if we get through this pandemic, it’s how we’ll find our way through to the new normal.

What’s going to change? The better question is, what isn’t?