For growth-minded introverts, feeling stagnant can be excruciating.
After all, humans have an innate need to keep moving forward. This can probably be traced back to our caveman days when constant migration was a way of life.
Nowadays, moving forward means feeling like our relationships, career, and character are evolving.
As the world stood still for several months because of the pandemic, many of us felt like we, too, were frozen in place.
As I’ve mentioned before, I’m a bit of a striver. I need to feel like I’m constantly growing and progressing towards my goals.
The pandemic shoved me into a corner. I felt like a kid flailing against the school bully as he nonchalantly pushed my forehead back with one hand.
I had to come to terms with the fact that the changes I was trying so desperately to make happen in my life were on pause indefinitely.
2020 goals down the toilet
If you’ve been following me for a while you know that my main focus of 2020 was building a community of likeminded creatives with whom I could collaborate and connect regularly.
Becoming a better comedian was also a major priority. Things seemed to going exactly as planned until the pandemic happened.
During the most difficult months of lockdown I worried that things would never change. Now I realize that I was so wrong.
Our life naturally changes and progresses on its own. We don’t always have to change, force, and push.
Getting out of my own way
A couple of weeks ago I had Ludacris’s song “Move Bitch Get Out Da Way!” stuck in my head. It was weird because I hadn’t heard it in ages.
Then I realized that this was probably my subconscious’s way of not-so-gently reminding me to get out of my own way.
All my flailing about was stifling the changes that would’ve otherwise happened naturally in my life.
Once I relaxed and ‘got out da way’, I suddenly saw that my life had changed in monumental ways during the lockdown period.
How my life has changed
The biggest transformations became clear to me this past weekend when I went to a comedy show with some of the members of my joke writing group.
I started the group in February, and we continued to have Zoom sessions throughout lockdown.
Gradually we started meeting in person again with patio sessions and backyard comedy special watch parties.
This weekend we had so much fun watching a live standup show together and then laughing and chatting late into the night.
After the show, a couple of pro comedians sincerely complimented me on how well I’ve been doing in comedy.
Their words helped me to see all the progress I’ve made in a short amount of time. All the small changes that I hadn’t noticed were now adding up.
Don’t be so hard on yourself
It reminds me of when I told one of my mentors about a failed romance. Feeling frustrated and down on myself, I asked, “What am I missing?”
She said, “Don’t be so hard on yourself. Change happens in increments. If you think about it, I bet this experience was an improvement on past ones.”
She was right. Just because I didn’t have the big win yet, didn’t mean that nothing had changed. I had changed, and so had the type of men and experiences I attracted.
I guarantee that this pandemic has changed you—and I’m not just talking about that extra 15 lbs of body weight and hair.
You and your life have shifted in important ways. Through the power of alchemy, you can transform everything that’s happened into gold simply by getting out of your own way.
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Love,
P.S. If you’re new to the blog, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Michaela Chung, author of The Irresistible Introvert and creator of this amazing innie community we have here. For several years, I’ve been building up a labyrinth of introvert resources that will take you on a magical journey toward more confidence, connection, and self-love. Start with this free Introvert Connection Guide.
