Over the past two years, we constantly hear the question of whether life will ever return to normal. I know what my answer is: no, it certainly will not.

Life, whether we like it or not, is only lived moving forward through time. We can have fond memories for other times. We can reminisce and have nostalgia for ages gone by. But we can never go back.

The best of any of us can do is to take what we learned from our past experiences and apply them to the challenges we face today. Isn’t that the very definition of wisdom, to make good judgments about the world?

One of the most valuable things a leader can do is gently remind people of this necessity to be present and frame the issues of the day as problems to be solved instead of using them as mental worry stones.

Perspective, delivered deftly, is one of the best gifts you can offer a person or an organization. It’s the sun that cuts through the clouds.

Onward and upward.