6 ways to work through the Great Reluctance

After two years of lockdowns and coping with so much uncertainty, the return to activities we used to take for granted feels alien, strange and can even be anxiety-inducing.

At the Rise Initiative, we’ve heard many, many stories over past months from people who tell us that while they really missed the social interaction during the pandemic, there was something well, nice about the changed nature of work, the different expectations, being able to wear your PJs or ugg boots at your desk and snuggle your dog any time of the day.

While home-schooling, endless Zooms, disconnection from friends and family and mask wearing truly sucked - especially when it was the only thing we could do - so too does sitting in endless traffic every day, rushing around for meetings that could have been emails, presenting at work to appease the boss and missing important moments with the kids.

Many of us are now questioning - ‘do we really want things to go all the way back to normal?’. And we hear from people who comment that they are holding back from throwing themselves all in, because they’re questioning the value of jumping back on the hamster wheel.

At Rise, we think this is a great line of questioning. Was normal ever really sensible? Do we want to go back to normal if normal was the problem? We call this the Great Reluctance. If you’re feeling reluctant, or even resentful (because that’s also a thing!), here are our tips.

Recognise how you feel

It’s okay to feel reluctant about throwing yourself back into life the way it used to be. What’s important is that you are honest about how you’re really feeling, even if that is overwhelmed or scared. Take time to sit with those feelings and acknowledge them rather than pushing them away, pretending they don’t exist or pouring another wine. Talk to close friends - you’ll probably find others feel similarly. If it becomes too difficult, access confidential professional counselling free of charge through the free Real Care app. You can download it from the App store or Google Play.

Create a new normal

Write yourself a list of what was positive about the pandemic (Zoom yoga, no lost time in travel, no high heels, cubby tents in the living room!) and the lists of positives from life before. (Conferences, Mum hugs, dinner out, holidays). Then combine those lists. Can you keep the best of both experiences in your life going forward? What habits will you need to build or structures will you need to create around yourself to make your new normal real?

Ease yourself in gently

Remind yourself that you don’t have to go from 0 to 100 in under a minute. Ease yourself in gently to build up your resilience. The socialisation of work, returning to the office, face to face client visits, conferencing - these are all stimulating activities, and it’s easy to feel sensory overload. Be mindful when you schedule your activities to set a steady pace rather than racing back to burnout. Track your progress by setting goals and small wins.

Give yourself some recovery time

Equally, if you do have a period of intense activity - like a conference, or can foresee a period with a hectic workload - consider handling it like a sprint, with downtime scheduled immediately afterwards. Jumping on planes, travelling, hitting huge targets, they take it out of us and it’s probable that your body is out of practice. Give yourself time to recover and reward yourself with a bit of a break to avoid burnout.

Support yourself

Creating healthy new habits, visualising new ways to be, ending behaviour that can be destructive - these are all easier when you have help. At the Rise Initiative, we’ve developed the award-winning Real Care app to give every agent and property manager the tools to help them perform better through developing great mental wellness. And it’s completely free to use, regardless of who you work for. Plus you can hear the stories from agents and PMs just like you at the Rise Conference being held in Melbourne at MCEC on Tuesday May 24. Tickets are just $299 plus GST.

It’s not too late to book your ticket to the Rise Conference. Click here.

Download the award winning Real Care app here.