When I was a kid, if you wanted to watch a TV show, you had to watch it on live television.
Unrelated, I'm finding myself starting sentences with, "When I was a kid," more and more these days.
I can feel the universe laughing at me.
Live television came with the cost of being interrupted by commercials. Especially if you're trying to watch a movie on TV, this really sucks.
But it was normal back then. We didn't have another option.
Now, everything is streaming. Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, and a host of others where we don't have to watch commercials anymore.
I tried watching TV in a hotel recently. It was unbearable.
If it sounds like you grew up when I did, try watching a live television show yourself today. Come back and let me know if it feels just as unbearable to you.
How did we put up with this for so long?!?
Not being able to watch a program for even a 10-minute stretch without being subjected to all kinds of ads for products we have no interest in?
I'll tell you how we put with it. Because it was everywhere. And there wasn't another option.
So, what does this teach us?
Whatever happens around us becomes normal. Whatever is around us is what we become used to. Whatever is around us is what we validate.
The same thing would happen if you reduced your work or activity schedule. After a month or two, you'll think to yourself, "How did I ever manage before?"
The evolution of commercials invites us to question what's normal, and what could be different.
And the possibilities that different can provide.