All the change and upheaval in the last seven months has challenged my preferred even-keel tendencies. I know that if I’m going to be in the water, I have to expect some waves—but it seems like I’ve been paddling unusually hard for a long time. For me, it is time to make peace with change and permanence.

Changes Happen All The Time, But . . .

We are taught at a young age that change is inevitable. We graduate from one school grade to the next. Our friends may move away. Older relatives pass on. Part of a parent’s job is to teach his children to accept the immutability of change. We advise our kids to learn to accept it and to live with it, even if they are slow to love it. That emotional compromise follows us into adulthood. When I, myself, implement positive changes, then I can easily love them. When frightening changes are thrust on me, I can be right back into the emotion of starting in a new school or grieving the loss of a beloved pet. Maybe as adults we just process these things faster, or assimilate them more easily?

The World Keeps Spinning

Changes that result in permanence that I remember so well were what followed the tragedy of 9/11/2001, and the Great Recession of 2008. After 9/11, we had to acknowledge that America was vulnerable to physical attack, loss of life, and destruction in the homeland. This brought about rapid and significant changes in personal security and global security. The Great Recession was a reminder that the U.S. is not somehow magically immune to financial losses and instability. Yet here we are. Still opening the doors for business (many but not all of us), still wanting our kids to be educated, still dreaming about comfort, safety, and abundance. That’s the American Dream.

Making Peace With Change And Permanence

Everyday Life wasn’t this way before, but now it is, and here we are. It sounds so simple, but I don’t find it to be. The punches in business keep coming, so I keep rolling with them. And then there are the issues of kids, and school, and sports, and church, and family get-togethers. You know—like the good old days. I’m reminded that just waking up each morning makes it a good old day by definition.

I’m working very hard to make business both doable and palatable in the new normal. If you need IT support but aren’t sure what that means or whether or not you can afford it, give me a call. We can both start with, “This is where I am right now.”

Jason Newburg, 260.243.5100, ext 2101, is the founder and owner of Aptica LLC. This IT management and support company has been serving small to medium-sized businesses for 19 years in the region that includes Angola, South Bend, and Fort Wayne, IN, Battle Creek, MI, and Toledo OH.