“I want my old life back!” I’ve been hearing this sentence a lot recently. But what does that actually mean? The OLD LIFE? What does this wish refer to and what have you done in the meantime, or not done, so that the old fits again, or should fit again?
Of course. I am referring to the time before Corona – the time before March 2020 describes “the old” in this context and now, after more than a year, many people simply want that time back. It should be over, the time of home eating, home cinemas, home offices, home schooling, home vacations, home et cetera.
To be honest, I would also like to smell other smells than those of my own kitchen, hear other languages and let my gaze wander over foreign horizons while my feet feel the warm sand beneath them. But why do we miss this variety so much? What does it mean to move in your life and in the world?
Move means to change one’s position.
The moment you change your position, your perspective also changes. If this process is carried out consciously, it may even lead to new insights. The way others look at you is also different. In a foreign world, you may be seen as a stranger and treated differently accordingly. This also changes your own behavior. You adapt, speak in a different language or have to constantly orientate yourself as to where you are or where you are going. “To move” therefore involves much more than simply relocating from A to B.
Being free to decide when, with whom and where you want to go, based on your own situation and your own will, suddenly had to be exchanged for a more or less voluntary “I’m staying at home”.
When we can no longer move around in the world ourselves, we like to be told stories. The “movie” took over the movement for us, while we followed the movements in the films and series on the screen. That was okay for a while. After all, it was somehow relaxing to recover a little from our own movement. But before absolute phlegmatism gets a firm grip on us (metaphorically speaking: pizza, beer and TV), we should take matters into our own hands again.
What should life look like after the crisis – The NEW LIFE? Do we pick up where we left off at the beginning of 2020? Do we try to repeat 2019 and simply forget 2020 and 2021?
Wikipedia says: ‘A crisis is generally a climax or turning point in a dangerous development of conflict in a natural or social system, preceded by a massive and problematic dysfunction over a period of time and lasting for a shorter rather than longer period of time.[1] The decision-making situation associated with the turning point usually offers both the opportunity to resolve the conflicts and the possibility of their intensification.[2] However, the fact that this is a turning point can often only be stated after the crisis has been averted or ended'[3].
In my role as a master in hypnosystemic business coaching, I usually work on more than 20 crisis issues at the same time. Crises are not a bad thing in coaching. On the contrary. The crisis is usually preceded by a longer process of negation, suffering and frustration.
Crisis in the sense of a turning point also means letting go. Letting go of what was and reflecting on how it has changed you and appreciating it. So far, I have never encountered a client who wanted to give up the experiences they had in order to get themselves back into the same situation as quickly as possible.
Experiences from crises strengthen you and often give you a new direction. When you finally set off to test out this new direction is again at your own discretion. But one thing is certain: we should not spend too much time cultivating fears, instead it would be beneficial to give space to the maturity we have gained. Both as individuals and as a society.
The result remains open.
Try it out. What do you have to lose?
With this in mind, I wish you a great summer with lots of new insights!
If you would like to find out more about my hypnosystemic and leadership coaching or would like to book an appointment for a non-binding initial consultation, please do not hesitate to follow the menu items on this page. It’s very easy!
I look forward to hearing from you!
Yours
Regina Reitinger 🙂
