The "new reality" is already gone.
Forty-something days ago when we all went into lockdown, a bunch of catchphrases emerged. One of them, as I’m sure you know was “new reality.”
“We have to adjust to this new reality.”
“Businesses will have to pivot to adapt to this new reality.”
“What will the arts look like in this new reality?”
At its best, the phrase “new reality” helped people realize that the standards of perfection, methods of connection, and measures of success that existed in society one week beforehand were no longer helpful in moving forward.
At its worst, the phrase “new reality” gave people the impression that we had arrived at a new destination with a complete and coherent set of rules and answers for how to succeed and thrive.
The truth is, we had not arrived anywhere. We were just starting the journey and there wasn’t even a map. While there were (and still are) many predictions about what would happen over the coming months - in society, in the economy, in the arts - they were never known truths. They were simply guesses based on the information we all had at that time. And all guesses, no matter how well-informed, are just guesses in the end.
Why does this matter?
Here we are, forty-something days later, and the new reality has been updated almost daily. Yes, most of us are still in our houses, but restrictions are slowly being lifted. Yes, large gatherings will not be allowed anytime soon, but small gatherings of 2-5 people might be coming sooner than we think.
In March, any launched ventures required the assumption that everything could be done 100% digitally without any human contact and that the venture would need to find a way to sustain in an economy that was tanking daily.
Going into May, the landscape has changed. Human contact will increase in the coming weeks, and the economy isn’t actively tanking - it already tanked. And when we get to June, who knows what the landscape will be. The months have always moved forward one at a time, and we simply aren’t there yet.
The new reality isn’t a destination that we have reached - or that we will ever reach. The only destination we can ever be sure of is the current reality.
Once we land squarely in the current reality of any given day, only then can we can start to make out a clearer outline of the potential future off in the distance. Whenever we remain tethered to yesterday’s reality, it becomes increasingly more difficult to assess what tomorrow could hold.
I promise it’s not as scary as it sounds.
Especially when we are talking about pivoting businesses and shifting the format of arts and entertainment, the current reality is where the possibilities, and possible fun, live.
I often talk about surfboards and waves when I talk about navigating change with grace. Large waves are powerful entities that can provide a ton of joy but can also do a lot of damage.
When a huge wave comes, we can do one of three things:
We can have our back to the ocean, watching the last huge wave that came reach the shore so that when the next large wave comes, we are caught off guard and pulled under with the current.
We can dig one end of the surfboard into the sand and hold the board up in front of us as a shield so that when the wave comes, it crashes into the board - creating a huge splash and requiring a ton of effort and strength on our part to stay standing.
We can hop on the surfboard and ride out the wave.
Option 3 requires awareness, presence, and a willingness to, quite literally, go with the flow. Yes it is scary. You could fall off the surfboard, or not catch the wave just right, or not be strong enough to stay standing the whole way through. But it gives you the highest chance of success.
Maintaining daily presence and awareness through constantly changing times is difficult. It’s uncomfortable, it’s scary, and it’s uncertain. However, it’s also where the most options exist for you, for your career, for your business, and for your future.
Plus, when you’re not staring wistfully at what was, or bracing for the absolute worst that the future might bring - you significantly increase your chances of having a fun along the way.
And isn’t that what life’s all about?