Why the New Normal Isn't so New for Us

As fans of nootropics and innovating ways to make the most out of our lives, we are accustomed to breaking through glass ceilings and pushing past our limits.  There is a space that comes after landing in new territory (cognitive, spiritual, or physical) where we have to regain our footing and acclimate to the novel place in which we find ourselves after we reach new levels.  We find ourselves facing these new horizons all the time, these “new normals,” as part of the growth process, so why should we feel so uncomfortable facing a new normal on a global scale?

We’re pushing closer to rounding the true corner of the pandemic.  Many of us have had our lives completely upended by the events of 2020, and we can almost see the finish line.  None of us want that finish line to just be a mirage, but after the constant need to cope with uncertain realities, we aren’t sure if we can trust it.  We are also dogged by a sense that things are going to be different once we reach that finish line, and do we even want to see what’s waiting on the other side?

The difference between being comfortable with a personal “new normal” and a global new normal is that we don’t have any established benchmarks to measure the global progress.  If you’re working on getting better gains at the gym, you can measure it.  If you’re working on increasing productivity by doing more work in a shorter amount of time, you can measure it.  If you’re working on reducing blood pressure or weaning yourself off prescription meds, you can measure it.

With so many people out there also adjusting to a new normal, the old saying that you can only be responsible for your actions has never rung more true!  How do we possibly measure when we’ve reached a new normal together if we can’t all agree on one way of measuring what benchmark we’re looking for?

That’s where the discomfort comes in.  It’s easier for us to work with a personal new normal because it feels like we are more in control of deciding when we’ve reached that new milestone.  However, sometimes even we don’t know we’re in a new normal because the success happens so gradually!

Take weight loss for instance.  Or the daily practice of taking an herbal adaptogen.  Or increasing neurotransmitter levels through daily supplements.  All of these take time to start showing results and are representative of small, daily strides.  One day, we turn around and the scale’s moved, or we start feeling happier, have a better memory, or reach those productivity levels.  We realize we’ve already moved into that new normal:  the space between now and not yet.

So, too, is this process of integrating ourselves into a new normal on a global scale.  It’s going to be a gradual progression; but unlike hitting a targeted goal, we might not know it’s even arrived yet, because it’s incorporating everyone else on the planet.

As people already dedicated to brain health, physical health, and well-being, take heart that we’re going to adjust better than most because we are used to this process! To you, I say, keep going:  we’ve got this.