It's Constant

 “If you treat every situation as a life and death matter, you’ll die a lot of times.”

– Dean Smith

This quote reminds me of something discussed in a book I'm currently reading (via audiobook, so is that really even reading?). They talk about our growing tendency as a society to catastrophize things. The idea being that we interpret everything as a catastrophe, which stymies our ability to adapt to and eventually overcome it. Every bad thing is interpreted as the worst possible thing, and it sends us into a tailspin of depression and anxiety because it conditions us to see the world as far worse than it actually is.

It is impossible to go just about anywhere right now without encountering people who are under a tremendous amount of stress, anxiety, and depression. This year is one for the record books in terms of stressors. Between a global pandemic and a contentious Presidential Election, there is a lot of noise that can make even the most stoic individual want to just crawl under a blanket and wait for it all to just run its course. However, we are not in a position to do that. There are too many people counting on us.

My message to you over the coming weeks is not to just ignore the stress or face it as a martyr. Neither of those are particularly helpful. Instead, I encourage you to seek perspective wherever you can find it. When you are feeling stressed about all of the change you are being forced to endure, look around you for all of the constants that you can take comfort in. Regardless of masks and Zoom calls, your colleagues are still here to lift you up when you need it, your students still show up excited to see you and their friends, your family still cherishes the idea that you will walk through the door at the end of the day. There are definitely a lot of things different about this year, but most of the best things are exactly the same. Over the coming weeks, try to focus on the constants more.