People need a sense of connection and belonging as much, if not more, than we possibly ever have. Yet, it seems that most of what we engage in each day is driving us further apart.
I had a series of phone calls this week to touch base with each of the participants in a Mastermind group I’m currently facilitating. Our conversations around important matters of life and getting work done in the process of so many distractions and obstacles were incredibly encouraging to me because we dove straight into weighty issues.
One of the matters that surfaced several times was the struggle of doing important but often tedious work in seeming isolation. Many have the sense – fed by their social media diet – that everyone else is cruising along in their work without constant speed bumps and huge potholes in their journey.
But everyone who is doing important work has their daily obstacles. We just can’t see them.
Often, just knowing you’re not alone in the struggle can make a huge difference in having the energy to go back into your personal odyssey and do the hard, focused work you need to do.
Getting out of your head and getting connected in healthy ways – outside of social media – can have a huge impact on your health as well as work. Feeling isolated causes your body to increase tissue inflammation and suppresses your body’s autoimmune response to disease, impacting your health in worse ways than being an alcoholic, a smoker, or obese.
Unfortunately, the news cycles and social media feeds around us are designed to feed anxiety. They create such constant noise that removing ourselves from it for the quiet we need to be productive can seem even more isolating. But ironically, it is the quiet and distancing ourselves from the distractions that returns us to a sense of connection – with ourselves and others.
Having found that social media can drain my energy and wound my hope, I’ve taken FB off my phone and am intentionally increasing the number of personal interactions with people who are hopeful and encouraging.
How are you moving yourself into a place of more optimism and productivity?