Many people have had to cope with a big shift in their working lives over the last two years, with their working environment switching from an office to a dining table or a spare bedroom. It may have been fun having Zoom calls in pyjama bottoms and slippers, but the vital part of those virtual business meetings was the connection. It is a deep human need.
Two years of quarantine-related isolation, constantly changing guidelines and anxiety has been taking its toll. As many of us return to the workplace (some full-time, some as part of a hybrid arrangement), there are those who will find it more difficult than others to reconnect with the working environment, relationships and dynamics we once took for granted.
I’m a great believer in little ‘micro-moments’ of learning or adaptation that allow us to actively take charge of our situation and emotions in the moment, reset and bring more of our best to help ourselves and others. Here are five great ways to reconnect and plug back into life – in just a moment.
1. Get Connected to Others
Take a minute to think about someone you’ve not seen because of Covid. A friend or family member or colleague or even a valued customer. Call them and arrange to meet up. Go for a walk outside in nature or go for a coffee or if they are too far away hop on FaceTime or Zoom. It’s still possible to connect and laugh and enjoy each other’s company and companionship without being in the same room.
2. Get Connected to Yourself
I recently listened to a great podcast with Lisa Miller and Rich Roll about cultivating a spiritual practice. Lisa talks about relationships and how they need to move from being transactional (what we can get from each other) to transformational, where we support and help each other to reach our goals and be our best selves. When I think of my journey and how I’ve reconnected with myself, my children and the world around me the joy, love and connection I now feel is overwhelming at times – in a very good way!
Take a few minutes to really tune into yourself and imagine your perfect life. Ask yourself, if money or location didn’t matter, what would a perfect day look like? We’re not talking about extreme experiences like climbing Mount Everest, or being super successful, but consider what your average day would be like in your perfect life. What’s so surprising about this exercise is that we are often much closer to it than we imagine. How many of those perfect life events or activities can you already do right now? So do more. Connect to yourself and what makes you happy, peaceful and contented.
3. Send out Positive Vibes
Take a moment to think of your last interaction. Did the vibes that you were sending out impact your interaction? Too often we let the ups and downs of life seep into our connections with others. Instead of feeling irritated, bored, frustrated or judged by the person in front of you, decide to send out positive vibes of ‘unconditional positive regard’. Unconditional positive regard, an idea put forward by American psychologist Carl Rogers, is simply deliberate acceptance and positive support for another, as they are, without judgement. Just try it and see how the connection flourishes and the outcome always improves.
4. A Random Act of Kindness Everyday
Historian Rutger Bregman argues for a new way of thinking about humanity that is especially relevant right now. He argues that it’s not only viruses that are contagious, but our behaviour as well. If we assume that most people are fundamentally selfish, and if we design our response to Covid (or other situations) with that view of human nature, then we’re going to bring that selfishness out in ourselves and other people. Whereas, if we assume that most people are cooperative and want to help, then we can actually inspire other people. This may sound a bit cheesy, but there’s actually a lot of psychological research that shows that acts of kindness are contagious. They even spread throughout social networks and influence people we don’t even know.
Kindness is also one of the only things that doubles when you share it. Just one act of kindness a day reduces stress, anxiety and depression. Your body becomes flooded with hormones that help you and the person you’ve helped feel healthier, happier and calmer. Serotonin which helps heal your wounds, also makes you feel happier. Endorphins reduce pain and oxytocin reduces blood pressure and makes you feel more loving and loved. Oxytocin is the bonding hormone. You’ll both feel more energised, have fewer aches and pains, feel more connected, confident and even live longer.
Make a commitment right now that you will demonstrate a random act of kindness every day. Hold a door open for someone, smile at someone you don’t know and mean it. Help someone struggling with an armful of files or a few reams of photocopy paper up the stairs. We can all find ways to be kinder and more connected in everything we do. We may not always be thanked or even acknowledged but we will always feel better and that positive energy will spread.
5. Be Grateful
The other thing this crisis shows very clearly is how dependent we are on certain professions. Around the globe, there are governments coming up with lists of so-called vital professions. If you look at those lists, you won’t find the hedge fund managers or marketeers, you’ll find the garbage collectors and the teachers and the nurses, people who are often not paid that well, but as it turns out are the people we can’t live without.
Take a minute to think about the people in your life that you can’t live without. The people you are most grateful for and make sure you let them know – every day. Think about the other things in your life that you are grateful for. Your health, the ability to walk in nature, your job or your home. A woodburning stove on a winter’s evening, having a laugh with your friends. Just take a few minutes at the start of each day and before you drift off to sleep to count your blessings despite the challenges we all face.
There is a lot about the world we can’t change right now (everyone is fed up with the pandemic) but there are lots of little things we can change to connect more authentically with ourselves and other. And if we all do them, we can make big changes for the better at work, at home and in our communities.
