Next Steps to Normalcy

My Experience and Exciting Times Ahead

This past weekend, I helped at The Grand Finale Steer Show in Abilene, Texas. The show consisted of 878 steers, 500+ exhibitors, and countless number of hopeful souls ready to bring back normalcy. With sports organizations, schools, and businesses preparing to open back up, I have developed five next steps we all can take as we get closer to more normal conditions.

Step 1: Start Spreading Kindness and Love to Others-This may seem easy; however, we sometimes don’t realize what we say to others. Look around you. People are overwhelmed with work, family matters, and chores. From dealing with messed up orders at Starbucks to others’ opinions on social media, we all have a chance to spread kindness versus bitterness. We all have gone through this pandemic and the effects from it. Moving forward, let’s make this world better by spreading kindness on all of our communication platforms.

Step 2: Care and Focus on the Next Generation- At the livestock show, legendary livestock evaluator and professor, Dr. Dan Hoge, said “Stand tall unless you are stooping down to help a young person and make sure you are using cattle to develop kids and not your kids to develop cattle.” Growing up, I can remember the famous rule “leave a place better than you found it.” We all come into this world and then will exit. The best way to make sure we leave the world better than we found it is to invest in the next generation. The generational impact will positively change the world.

Step 3: Use Time Wisely- These last few months have made me re-evaluate my time management skills. In my personal life, I have a lot of things going on and try to figure out a way to make it all happen. My time management skills I felt were good; however, I have figured out that they still need improvement. The pandemic has filled over 1/3 of the year for us. We must remember that our time here is limited. We have a choice to live each day to the fullest.

Step 4: Realize our Health and Health of Others- Before the pandemic, I knew I needed to lose 10-15 pounds. After seeing the impact COVID-19 has on our population, I have understood the importance of quality health. No matter our age, we must understand our current health and take actions to change. We must always work towards bettering our bodies.

Step 5: Support our Businesses, Essential Workers, and Community: It doesn’t matter if you live in a small west Texas town or the DFW metroplex, our communities, states, and country have taken a huge hit. Our first responders, businessmen and women, healthcare workers, farmers, ranchers, teachers, and professors are coming back from tough times. Make sure to support the local businesses, thank your essential personnel, and volunteer where needed.

Step by step, normalcy will return. Sports will be back, kids will be going to school, and we will all talk about the times of COVID. Small steps will lead us closer to a world full of the things we enjoy. Stay healthy, help make this a better world, and hunger for your passion.