I want to share something with all of you on the value of having a “method.”
While listening online to Pastor Rich Wilkerson’s recent sermon at Vous Church, I realized how having a “method” to life is vital. Then later, while catching up on emails and responding to people that had reached out on LinkedIn, I noticed as I reviewed older conversations people were saying things like, “I am doing well, just trying to figure out the ‘new norm.'" I paused as I read through these and started looking at dates. What does “new norm” even mean?
Our changed world
Last year, we were all trying to figure out what just happened and how to deal with it. However, today is a different story. Now, time has passed since the pandemic surprised us. It’s time to challenge my own thinking. Am I saying, “What is our ‘new norm’?” Am I hearing others say, “Still trying to figure it out?” I challenge each of you as I point the finger to myself; the key to adapting to our changed world is in our method. If you examine your methods, you’ll likely find that you’ve already adapted quite a bit, and you’re doing better than you thought you would.
Pursuing the new "norm"
A method is a form of procedure for accomplishing or approaching something, orderliness of thought or behavior, systematic planning or action. At this point, we’ve adjusted to the pandemic. We realize we can’t go back to the past, but sometimes we must remind ourselves we are past the “new norm.” We are now in our “norm.” It’s important to take the time to look around and take note of how our methods have changed to adapt to the changed world.
When you take a look at what you are doing today versus a year ago, I bet we’ve all changed something in our method, our approach to life. We had to because life happened; it changed. Circumstances beyond our control took place. So, take a look at your “method.” Are you looking at people in your circle in the same way you did two years ago? Are you looking at the processes you handle during a day in the same way? If so, I challenge you take a look at your method.
As with anything in life, methods have to change from time to time. The core pieces that make us who we are and our principles stay the same, but the method takes a different approach to stay relevant. Go back through your emails and look at your conversations from a year ago and see how your conversation has changed today. If you are not seeing a change, take a moment to self-reflect and examine how you might adjust your method of interacting with others. Could you display more patience, kindness, or even inspire others in our changed world?
We've adapted
At The Bank of Missouri, we changed our method quite a bit throughout the pandemic, and it is now our normal method to work to increase our customers’ banking access no matter how they wish to bank. We’ve adapted our online and mobile banking experience, our Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs), our drive-ups and how we use our lobbies to ensure that our method fits your needs in this changed world. What won’t change at The Bank of Missouri is our drive to ensure we’re meeting you where you need us. We’re here to help you Live Well, Bank Well no matter what normal looks like.