Depending on where you are in the country or even the world, you may have noticed things haven’t been exactly been normal lately. Many of us are out of our comfort zones as we experience uncharted territory.

Here in Florida, we have been watching hopefully for the last few weeks as the state slowly begins to open back up. Restrictions have eased in regard to restaurants, businesses, gyms, salons, etc. We have been dealing with COVID19 for over two months now as a nation.

During this time, I have seen the pandemic bring out the best and the worst in a lot of folks. Many people I know have lost their jobs or have been furloughed. Many businesses that I used to frequent will end up closing their doors (if they haven’t already) as a result of the economic impact of the virus. Even worse, some people have lost loved ones during this time and my heart goes out to them.

I have seen many people exhibit leadership qualities during this time and put others before themselves. We all know people like that, and we need them, even if we don’t deserve them. In contrast, I see a lot of people who have demonstrated the dangers of what can happen when we are too comfortable and for too long of a time.  It is easy to become disenfranchised with turbulence.

Nothing anyone can say will bring loved ones back or immediately repair the economic cost to millions of people across the country. It is something we will likely be rebuilding for a while to come. That said, it’s on my heart that like all difficult situations, this will lead to new opportunities for growth and success so long as we are open to receive them.

Most of the growth that has taken place in my own life has been a direct result of situations that were difficult and uncertain. No one grows in their comfort zone. I’m a firm believer in that. I’m also a firm believer that tough circumstances make us who we are more than the easy times. I don’t think a lot of people saw anything like this coming, but that doesn’t mean we can’t use this as an opportunity to put things in priority and make necessary changes.

One of the things this pandemic reminds me of is how we tend to perceive change as a negative thing. Growing up, the uncertainty of change always scared me. I was always interested in over-achieving, but the only way I knew to do so was academically. Studying was completely within my comfort zone, so I was not necessarily growing.  In high school, my dad started planting seeds in my mind to think of the future and the skills I needed to develop in order to achieve what I wanted in the future. I started to challenge my own paradigm and I realized that growth was behind the mountain of things I was afraid of.  One of those things was public speaking.

Some of you knew me back in elementary school. If you did, you likely either didn’t notice me, or you may have noticed that I was not the most talkative person. I did not like speaking in front of people I didn’t know and consequently, I kept most of my thoughts to myself. That was my comfort zone. The more and more I thought about it, I began to think about what it would be like to conquer my fear of speaking in front of people I don’t know.  What would that look like? I started to think how crazy it would be if I ever conquered this fear by speaking in front of a big group (which seemed like my worst nightmare at the time). I ended up signing up to campaign for an office position (treasurer of the HOSA club). This would force me to speak in front of the entire medical academy.

 I knew I had to conquer this fear, so I signed up to campaign for an office position (treasurer of the HOSA club). Even though I didn’t win, I beat my fear of speaking in public and lobbied in front of the entire medical academy multiple times. This may not seem all that significant, but it was the beginning of a very different version of myself. I started taking risks and putting myself in uncomfortable situations on purpose. I found freedom in accepting an uncomfortable situation and strength in choosing that path by my own free will.  By the time I took speech class in college, I was so happy that I had invested the time to practice before so speaking in front of people was no longer a concern.  

I know many of you probably identify with having a fear of public speaking, but even if you don’t, the underlying principle still stands. We all have things we are afraid of. There are things we are each uniquely capable of doing, and others that don’t come as natural. Getting up and speaking in front of people is a simple thing, but it gave me strength to build upon in order to build confidence for future endeavors.

Uncertainty can be a scary thing. I know many of us will be undergoing career changes in the near future. One of the things I’m proud to see is how many people have taken a step back and began to prioritize their health again. It’s never too late to learn something new and apply it. Just because we’ve been doing something the same way for a long time doesn’t mean the path on the other side doesn’t hold amazing things for us. If there was ever a time where we are encouraged to reinvent ourselves, it is now.

I know this situation is not ideal, but when everything is over and we are standing on the other side, I’d like to do so having learned a new skill, identified areas where I can improve, and embraced changes that will make me a better person for having gone through something. There are always reasons to be thankful. Growth opportunities are among them.

If you have any stories of positive outcomes you’ve experienced as a result of change, I’d love to hear them.

Until next time… XOXO!

Lexi Pernsteiner RN-MSN

Instagram: Lexicristabelle