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Perhaps this is what you’ve needed all along.
By Leah Njoki — Written on Oct 18, 2021
When you encounter a life-altering experience and imagine you’re never going to rise from it again, it’s not because you’ve not waded through tough times before.
It’s because deep down, you realize it’s time to create the shift you need to accommodate a new version of yourself and your life.
Although it feels unbearable at first, this is what ushers in the breakthrough that awaits us on the other side of the situation. COVID -19 has been the highlight of 2020 and 2021, altering the entire trajectory of our lives.
Fortunately, the silver lining of everything falling apart during this pandemic means an awakening of our lives in a way that transforms us.
These 12 truths will reveal how you’ll change after COVID -19.
1. You’ll no longer fit into your normal. You won’t be able to go back to your old routines because life as you once knew it would have changed color. You’ll get used to the current shifts and settle into them.
You’ll adopt new coping mechanisms for uncomfortable situations. Your priorities, routines, and habits, will be overhauled, bringing to the surface only what’s truly important.
2. You’ll step into your new life, armed with a renewed sense of real freedom. You’ll appreciate the pleasure of a long walk, the chatter of kids in the park, and the thrill of a kick-ass workout at the gym.
You’ll no longer complain about taking a bus ride to work or hopping into a train to go into the city. You’ll plan your next holiday to a far-off country.
3. You’ll fully internalize the wisdom that the best things in life are free. like fresh air, waking up next to the love of your life, a smile from a stranger, a friend you care about on the other side of the phone, and happy memories.
4. You’ll appreciate hugs more than ever before.
5. You’ll not only be more hygienic at a physical level; you’ll also clean up unnecessary people from your life, finally abdicating yourself from seeking their validation or justifying yourself to them.
You’ll eliminate all superficial elements from your life, and finally, you’ll start living authentically.
6. Your children will know you in a more profound and meaningful way, as will your understanding of them. You’ll finally be able to see the flaws in them that have always been masked by your busy life.
7. Your marriage will be smoother because quarantine will have forced you to iron out the rough edges, and all issues formerly under the carpet will be brought to the surface.
8. The other side of the spectrum will also hold; you’ll finally give up trying resurrecting the dry bones of a dead marriage.
You’ll no longer hold yourself back from real happiness, which is why you’ll open yourself up to the possibility of new love. Unapologetically.
9. You’ll probably own the first chapter of your manuscript, music, or business proposal. Whatever it is, you’ll resurrect the dream that you’ve buried for years. This will usher in meaning and fulfillment in your life.
10. Chances are, you’ll be 10 kilos heavier, in which case you’ll want to do something about that.
11. You’ll have first-hand experience in the fragility of human life and will be well–equipped to share your slice of wisdom with the generations to come.
12. You’ll realize that more is not better.
13. You’ll feel yourself changing, as will your beliefs and perspectives. A new version of you will emerge from this.
Remember that no matter how distressful this season of our lives is, we’re evolving into decent humans day by day by learning how to let go of elements of ourselves that we should have outgrown years ago.
The uncertainty is teaching us how to embrace the fragility of life and appreciate the moments we have here and now.
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Leah Njoki is a writer who has been featured in Medium, Ladders, The Good Men Project, Towards Data Science, and more. Follow her website.
This article was originally published at Medium. Reprinted with permission from the author.