Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg was on a roll. A child prodigy, she studied violin at Juilliard School of Music and quickly became an in-demand soloist. She scored a record deal and said yes to every guest appearance that came her way. When she remembers those days, she says, “…the management and the publicists do their thing, and you go for the ride—you go along with the tide of it.”
That was until she sliced her hand while making Christmas dinner. “Sliced” is an understatement—she needed six months of healing after surgery to reattach her little finger. Her career seemed to hit a dead end. However, the pause served a purpose—it forced Nadja to re-evaluate.
Nadja recalls, “It was a shocking day, and everything that I knew of my life thus far was gone, in less than a second. The income wasn’t coming in because, of course, I had to cancel everything for quite a bit of time. I started to feel pressure to make money again…So, I was trying to heal the finger and force a quicker recovery than was happening. I think the accident was meant to be, and it was a sign, and it was a Godsend, to actually kick me in the ass, to remind me why I play the violin anyhow…When I started playing again, I felt whole again.”
In the June series, No More Snow Days, we’re talking about ways you can take charge of your life for a new normal. Nadja’s story shows how easy it is to accidentally fall into the role of a spectator, going along with someone else’s blueprint for your life. Have you had a similar a-ha in lockdown, where distance from your old routine has given you a new perspective? Act on that insight and switch from a spectator to a participator. Choose your life’s direction with intention, purpose, and passion.
Saying “yes” to intention can sound exciting, but just as quickly, self-doubts might kick in. You could think, Wait a minute—was there something wrong with my choices so far? The answer is “no” —you made the right decisions for the person you were at the time. But after lockdown, we’re all emerging a little different than we were before.
If you’re not sure where to start, pair your insights with the soft skill of creativity. Spark ideas about changes that would make you feel whole, healthy, and complete. For instance, Nadja returned to what she loved, but she also chose to restructure her former breakneck schedule. Her new routine accommodated her whole life—including more time with friends and family—rather than putting work first and everything else a very distant second. Are your instincts encouraging you to make a similar adjustment?
Be a participator by dreaming big before you blindly drop back into the same old routine. Here are three ways to try the wholeness challenge:
Quarantine life has made us all slow down, but use that slow-down to your advantage. Before you race back to your old life, rebuild one step at a time with purpose, passion, and intention.