How does it feel to be at the precipice of a change in identity? You can sort of feel something is happening. It's slow. It's painful. It's not an overnight process. You almost don't realize it's happening until you have crossed over to the other side and the change has transpired already. If you look back to analyze when those thoughts that lit the fire occurred, you may realize that those moments were when you first started to ask questions. They start with little but constant rumblings of discontent and they get deeper over time. Over a slow painful process you realize you have changed. This is what it feels like when inner values change. At least, this is how this process was like for me.
Those first thoughts of discontent started as musings, "what ifs" and "what elses". A flurry of options would appear. I could be a person who gardens. Someone who works with animals perhaps? I could be a writer. I could be an art teacher. I could be an artist. Could I? I started seeing myself doing different things. I have questioned myself extensively in these past two years. My abilities. The things I do well. Things I don't. Things I love. Things I get lost in. I have questioned myself on how I see myself in 10-15-20 years. Where do I want to be? What will happen if I don't change? This questioning of self has slowly resulted in a reconfiguration of my inner values.
A change in inner values means getting realigned with what is important to you in your current phase of life. Some values weigh heavier after this happens and this usually happens after a big event. Big events are anything that make a profound impact on our lives and what was Covid-19 if not a big event. The impact of this pandemic on lives around the world varied a lot and the effect will play itself out over the next coming years. People in different life stages and economic conditions had a different experience, however, an impact there was.
A change in inner values means getting realigned with what is important to you in your current phase of life.
I think, to some extent, all of us have changed in fundamental ways over the past two years. While the pandemic raged on, we questioned why we work? What do we do? Why do we do what we do? Meaning? Impact? What else do we love? Who do we love? How do we spend our lives? Who were we before? What excites us? What did we like as children? As young adults? We have picked up new hobbies. Re-discovered lost ones. We have realized how precious time is. An hour of commute time means something different now vs what it did prior to Covid-19. We have thought of the future and the fleeting nature of our present times. We have lost people in our lives. When as a generation these experiences are had collectively, great shifts happen. It's inevitable. Don't you think?
For me the following things have passed the "what I value more" test:
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More time spent doing things I love
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Flexibility of work hours
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Working with people in person
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Having teammates to share your day with
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Expressing myself creatively and confidently
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Ability to learn and experiment
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Physical activity
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Quiet time and silence
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Intellectual stimulation
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Meaningful work over working just for the pay check
How have you changed? Does this experience resonate with you? Tell me below.