What do you do when the entire world is in crisis? What do you think when your whole industry is forced to change course? What do you feel when a 2-week order becomes a 2-month order to stay home? The reality is becoming more and more clear – we can't just power our way through this one. For the last few weeks, influencers and business owners (including myself) have been scrambling to put together blog posts, ebooks and resources on how to be productive for their followers, responding to the global circumstances and trying to make good out of it. Trying to find the new normal... And while these tools are meant to help, sometimes they overlook the very qualities of humanity that make it impossible to be successful. With new developments being shared every day, we are expected to be on our toes, ready to make the necessary changes at the drop of a hat. That is no setting in which to double down and make life work for us. We are literally unable to settle into any sense of normal – old or new. Productivity is an unwinnable game most days. The best we can do is slow down and find a new rhythm that can eventually accommodate our ideas of productivity. What is the new normal? No one knows yet. And while that's frustrating and full of anxiety, maybe we can lean into the unknown to find our footing. A friend from my graduate program shared an article that spoke straight to my stress yesterday. And I just keep coming back to it:
"Now more than ever, we must abandon the performative and embrace the authentic. Our essential mental shifts require humility and patience. Focus on real internal change. These human transformations will be honest, raw, ugly, hopeful, frustrated, beautiful, and divine. And they will be slower than keener academics are used to. Be slow. Let this distract you. Let it change how you think and how you see the world. Because the world is our work. And so, may this tragedy tear down all our faulty assumptions and give us the courage of bold new ideas. On the other side of this shift, your wonderful, creative, resilient brain will be waiting for you."
- Aisha S. Ahmad
Your wonderful, creative, resilient brain will be waiting for you. And so will your fans. So will I. I cannot wait to hear your voice, see your face, and watch you perform when we can finally rest in the next chapter of normal. Until then, be kind to yourself and reach out if you need a pep talk, PR advice, someone to get excited about your music, just a place to vent, you name it. To your wellness, Naø 🖤
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