Loneliness...The Real Pandemic

We often see balance as a very complicated math equation that we never seem to get right, don’t you think?

?The thought occurred to me as I was working on a recent keynote on finding inner balance during challenging times.

?We’re all striving for balance. But what is it? Why do so many of us struggle to solve the equation?

?The ambitious urge to find personal—or inner—balance never seems to let up.?

?I often ask my high performing executive clients, “ what gets in the way of your inner balance?”

?Lately, loneliness or lack of meaningful relationships is the answer.?

?This has made me reflect on my own experience.?

?As an immigrant who came to the USA from Venezuela when I was in my 20’s, my most meaningful relationships were left behind. I needed to build my new tribe.?

?But it turned out that I didn’t have time for that. My time was devoted to building my career and securing finances and success in my new home in a foreign country with a new language to learn.

?I got wrapped up with “fitting in” to the Corporate America culture and a workaholic was born.

?Most of my social interactions came from work. It made sense and it was practical. I couldn’t afford any distractions, anyway. And I thought I didn’t need them. All I wanted to do when I came home from work was disappear into the silence and crash on my bed.

?This loop lasted for quite some time. Years. Decades, really.?

?Then burnout hit and values shifted.?

?I could no longer find meaning and value in many of my existing relationships. They were mostly transactional and there was no one to blame. In that environment, we were all just surviving, trying to catch the next wave of success, climbing the corporate ladder.?

?Who had time to be or have good friends anyways?

?Loneliness was already a pandemic before covid hit.

?We were already feeling lonely as a result of overestimating the value of success, career status, and wealth. Our professional-self had taken over our personal-self and we were socially and emotionally disconnected.

?According to research:?

You need people as much as you need water

The number one metric to predict your levels of happiness is the quality of your relationships.

You’re losing the battle for happiness because you’re not bonding or creating meaningful relationships with others.

?Finding inner balance requires an intentional effort.

And I say effort because, unfortunately, being lonely has become our default state.

Marinade that with long periods of quarantine and isolation and you have a recipe for personal disaster.?

?You can have career status, wealth, a promising success story but if you don’t have a tribe and meaningful relationships, a sense of constant pain is your only companion.

?Filling up the blank relationship pages in the story of your life can make all the difference to your inner balance, and in turn, your experiences.?

Don’t let busyness get in the way of cultivating meaningful relationships. "Busyness" could lead to rudeness and isolation and "Presence" leads to kindness and connection.

?Create space for social interactions, becoming part of a community, and practice being a good friend.

?Make building authentic and meaningful relationships a priority.

?Your future self won’t regret it. And you may just find you’ve solved the equation for your own inner balance.?

?“The dynamic of friendship is almost always underestimated as a constant force in human life. A diminishing circle of friends is the first terrible diagnostic of a life in deep trouble: of overwork, of too much emphasis on a professional identity, of forgetting who will be there when our armored personalities run into the inevitable natural disasters and vulnerabilities found in even the most average existence.”- David Whyte-

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#loliness #epidemic #busyness #happinessatwork #mindfulnessatwork #friendships #happiness #executivecoach #mindfulnessatworkconsultant

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?To learn more about my Corporate Burnout Prevention Programs: ?https://www.yourgotocoach.com/mind-mastery/

To learn more about my Lunch and Learns for your team: https://www.yourgotocoach.com/happiness-at-work/

To learn more about my Corporate Mindfulness@Work Programs: https://www.yourgotocoach.com/mindful-mondays/

?NEW Keynote: Finding Inner Balance in Difficult Times (30 mins)

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