How Will I Be Different?

How will you be different today? As you’re reading this, it’s a new day, no it’s more than that, it’s a new moment. It’s a moment when we’re facing unprecedented pressure. And in this moment let’s not lose sight of the uncomfortable reality that pressure is typically productive, that is it often leads to good outcomes.

Consider how many things we value that only come about because of pressure: diamonds, the game winning shot with no time left, the project completion at the eleventh hour, babies pushed out at their delivery, hydraulic brakes that stop cars, jet engines that power flight, water that’s pumped through faucets, and more. All these aspects of our daily lives are made possible by pressure.

Our trouble is that we tend to not like pressure. When it comes, we want to get back to “normal”. That means a return to the way things were before the pressure mounted. We hear that a lot now and think about it even more. Our biology doesn’t help, because as an organism, we’re wired to seek homeostasis. However, as a species, we’ve only ever gotten better because something has happened that brought pressure, and pressure forced us to adapt, to change, to be better than we were.

I think that a different question needs to be asked during these times. Don’t ask “when will life return to normal?” Instead ask yourself a question that will help you use the pressure of this moment to be better. The question I ask myself each night is “how will I change my life tomorrow so that I’m not only better, but I’m also better able to help others?” You can make up your own question, but the point is to set that aspiration in your mind and let it be the guide to the decisions you make about your day tomorrow.

So, what will be different about your tomorrow? When you go to bed tonight, don’t think back with anxiety about the pressure that’s part of this moment. Instead let that pressure be the inspiration that propels you to action to fulfil your answer to the question “tomorrow, how will I make my life different/better than today, and better equip me to help make all of us better?”