Beyond Digital: Nature's Role in Professional Growth and Leadership

Have you ever had the experience of being in nature - perhaps on a holiday or walking through a forest - when suddenly you find clarity about what's actually going on inside yourself?

Through our work at the The Rites of Passage Institute we've witnessed this phenomenon countless times. When young people step away from their screens and into nature, they begin asking themselves the deeper questions:

What are the things that are truly important in my life?

What areas of my life aren't working?

What do I want to be doing more of?

The beauty of nature is that it gives us this extraordinary ability to disconnect from what many would call the madness of our day-to-day lives. It creates space for us to reflect on what truly matters. This is why our programs deliberately incorporate time in nature - we've seen how it consistently helps people reconnect with their authentic selves.

In stark contrast, technology - especially social media - is algorithmically designed to keep our attention focused outward. We find ourselves constantly looking at other people, what they're doing, how they look, even when we know much of what we see is artificially enhanced. It's fascinating, isn't it? While nature invites us to look inward, social media persistently pulls us outward.

Here's what I find particularly interesting: social media isn't about helping us discover who we are. Instead, it's designed to persuade us that we need to be like someone else - whether that's adopting their views, buying the makeup they use, drinking what they drink, or listening to their music.

In our work implementing wellbeing strategies in schools across Australia, we've observed this striking contrast. While social media often makes young people feel like they need to be someone other than who they are, nature gives them the opportunity to genuinely explore their identity. In nature, they begin to recognise their own unique gifts, talents, and spirit - their own particular genius that doesn't need to mirror anyone else's.

I love that nature provides this space for authentic self-discovery. It's why incorporating natural environments into our rites of passage work has become so crucial. Because when we step away from the screens and into the natural world, we often find exactly what we've been scrolling for all along - our true selves.