I’m feeling burned out. Maybe beyond burned out. I heard a funny term recently to describe this “beyond” state: crispy burnt. Yes, I’m definitely crispy, especially around the edges and not in a bacon-y good kind of way.

And I imagine, I’m not alone.

As we move into this new stage of the pandemic, I’ve realized that we have not ended the need to continue to adapt and change with the shifting sands of the state of our work and careers. To some of you, the light at the end of the COVID tunnel brought some much-needed relief, but then very quickly, we all realized that it maybe wasn’t the “normal” that we had known before. That instead of trying to replicate or copy our lives in some way shape or form at the beginning of the pandemic, now we actually have to create and adapt to a new way of working and living. One mostly of our own choosing (if one is privileged to have that choice), but a new way nonetheless.

My work as a therapist at the beginning of the pandemic was focussed mainly on how do I help people put structure back into their lives that felt quite similar to how things were before. Like, how can we replicate the function and structure of work, or social gatherings and relationships, and make it feel somewhat the same.

But now, I’m realizing, we all have to re-adapt to a new way of living, working and being with others. The questions of what will returning to work look like? Will it work for me or my family? How do I have the difficult conversations, with my boss or my partner, about that? What will my work and life relationships look like now? How do we transition from almost too much togetherness or aloneness to another type of balance? How do I navigate going back to “normal” when things still don’t feel really normal at all? Why is this so hard – even though these changes are good for me?

It’s important to remember that we are hard-wired for adaptability. And that it is normal to recognize that even the best choices for us can still feel uncertain and challenging. Growth and change does not happen in a place of comfort – it is the very uncomfortableness that shows us that we are out of our comfort zones, moving forward and making progress.

So, this is a reminder to be kind and gentle to yourself during this time of transition. The discomfort is like an itchy wool sweater – it’s annoying and scratchy for the first little while, but then your body adapts and it no longer pays attention to the itch. But when you have to venture out into the cold, you realize that you tremendously glad for your choice of sweater – despite how itchy it had felt.