Keeping Up with the Pace of the Game
On Friday nights, I have a Zoom call with some good friends from college. Even though it only lasts about an hour, it’s been a major factor in sustaining my social life through quarantine while in-person interaction isn’t possible. There’s something about seeing everyone’s faces and getting back to our usual shenanigans that gives me a boost until our next call. As I’m sure many of you have noticed on similar calls with family and friends, once you get above five people on a call, it’s difficult to figure out who should talk and how to manage the flow of the conversation. It makes you realize how many cues we miss when we’re unable to talk in-person. To solve this issue, I decided to start asking hopefully thought provoking questions, where we could go down the line and everyone could respond. After a recent call, one response from a friend stood out to me. The question was, “If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?” The answer was that he wished he focused less on comparing himself to others and more about progressing at his own pace. Especially with people constantly posting achievements and updates on social media, it’s been hard for many, including myself, not to feel that way.
Entering the Golden Age of Social Media
Over the next week, I thought more about this concept my friend had brought up and realized that this feeling had dissipated for me. With everyone holed up, businesses shut down or trying to survive, and people unable to go about their normal lives, there has been this forced pause. While the negative implications have been frustrating for nearly everyone, this situation has also created a sort of calm. We’ve been able to focus more on community and connection than feeling like we have to prove our progress. We’ve seen social media being used as it was originally intended, inspiring friends to share favorite albums, to stay fit or to give shout-outs to those you appreciate. There’s a level of togetherness that many of us have not seen before. As we’re in the midst of this shared experience during the pandemic, there’s been a shift from a disconnected world of individuals to a more close-knit community where people are actively supporting each other.
Dance Like No One is Watching… and Keep Dancing
With that in mind, there has never been a better time than now to try new things, fail, learn and improve. With no one to watch or judge, we can finally focus on what we truly care about whether it’s ourselves or our relationships with family and friends. When everyone else is stuck thinking about what they can’t do right now, what can you accomplish when you’re competing against no one but yourself? When this is over, will we let the same pressures and attitudes return, or will we be able to use this crisis as a catalyst to get more out of ourselves and our lives? Will it be a missed opportunity to go back to the way things were and not go to the way they should be? For the world, only time can tell; but for ourselves, we have the power to decide these outcomes. Live in the moment. Have fun. Give thanks. Don’t cry over SPILT MILK.
by Max Palladini - Strategist. Auto-enthusiast. Aspiring sneaker-head. SoCal native.
Follow Max on Instagram @maxpalladini and connect with him on LinkedIn here.