Should we stop saying the “New Normal” when we actually mean the “Future”?

The phrase has been everywhere. Headlines, Zoom calls, corporate emails. It became the catch-all term for a moment when nobody really knew what was coming next. But at some point the language stopped helping. It felt vague, temporary, and slightly apologetic.

We are not going “back” to anything. Life moves forward. Work moves forward. Brands move forward. The future is still the future, even if it looks different to the one we expected.

Maybe it is time to retire the phrase and talk plainly about what comes next.