It is worth remembering that the time of greatest gain in terms of wisdom and inner strength is often that of greatest difficulty.

Dalai lama

Many of us are asking, “When will things get back to normal?” Define normal. If we’re waiting for things to return to how they were in 2019, it’s not likely they ever will. If we keep doing that, it will be like driving a car while looking through the rear window.

But if you’re seeking a way to re-tool your career or your business to accommodate the way things are right now, then you’re on the right track. Today’s new realities will drive tomorrow’s outcomes. The past will be hard to draw inspiration from for a while. If anything, it’s a time for profound reinvention. However, there are examples to draw from.

A Lot of New Normals

People’s buying habits and desires have changed dramatically. So have business models. For instance, delivery and other online services are obviously trending up (Zoom, anyone?). Is there anything about your current skillset or service offering that can follow this trend? Do you have a brick-and-mortar store that you can take online? Can you offer classes or lectures in your field? Are you ready to monetize a hobby?

Also, in-home services, such as decorating, organizing and home repair are skyrocketing for obvious reasons. Home tutoring for schoolchildren is on the rise. Offices are laying empty which means there are probably going to be a lot of inexpensive opportunities to repurpose these spaces, perhaps for light manufacturing or such. Many commercial properties are already converting to residential in order to leverage the disruption.

Creating Your New Normal

Many large brands such as Microsoft and Twitter have announced that they are making remote-work policies permanent. We may be raising a generation of children who won’t know what’s it like for a parent to go to work in the morning. There are also many job categories in the United States currently experiencing skills shortages. For instance, lab technicians are in high demand right now, and have been since before the pandemic. So, for those that have the resources, now might be a time to retrain.

If there’s anything we should aspire to getting back to, it should probably be civility and reasoned debate. Other than that, trying to answer the question, “When will things get back to normal?” will depend largely on what you want normal to look like. Just trust one thing: There will be a way to sell what you have to offer. It just might not be what you’ve been selling so far.