The root of our wellbeing is in who we are being.
We often feel we are in control of life and as we have seen in 2020, we have no idea what lies in our future. This is a fact of life many of us have had to come to terms with this year.
Wellbeing is a lot of things to different people and in the context of this essay, we refer to a more holistic sense of wellbeing that includes social and financial wellbeing, for example, not just your physical wellbeing.
Let’s just focus on the aspect of physical wellbeing - being healthy and well.
Some of us think we might live forever and in this age of technology, scientists work on research so we can “live forever.” Another another side of the spectrum, if we refer to a Netflix science fiction series called Black Mirror, we fantasize about the possibilities of turning ourselves digital and living in a simulated world where we can never “die” (and if we do, it’s a matter of rebooting our host computer!).
Our optimistic selves wish to feel like we are in control. That we will have plenty of warning before we pass away and if we honestly ask ourselves, we actually have no idea.
It is in these moments we feel in control that puts a false predictability in the space which is, in fact, not control.
It is the certainty “I’ll call my friend tomorrow” when tomorrow may never come.
So if this way of thinking is so habitual for human beings, how do we see things differently?
It is not a matter of just saying to yourself “ok - I’ll stop procrastinating and just call people when I think about them no matter how busy I am” - this often does not work in practice as we know how quickly “new year resolutions” dissipate as 2021 approaches.
We are tasked with replacing an old perspective with a new perspective. We cannot simply drop our current perspective because we are currently living in it.
This is one of the challenges of wellbeing as it relates to being and our behaviors.
In an age of exponential information, every human being with a unique blueprint has unlimited opportunities and next steps which can prove to be paralyzing at times.
Many have an endless array of notes related to our wellbeing that go unprocessed. We have the opportunity to transform how people take input from health practitioners, advisors, coaches and take meaningful and relevant action.
What we need is a new approach. An approach that is distinctly different from how you imagine yourself organizing notes today. One that includes others as part of the process.
We enter a case for collective action.
Burnout is a systemic issue in our society impacting all levels of society. Half of physicians are burnout, 20% are clinically depressed, and the suicide rate continues to increase.
Burnout impacts everyone. It happens for more reasons than we can count and it happens even to healthy human beings.
What often happens when we feel burnt out is we retreat. Retreating is valuable for gaining new perspective. The irony is we are social beings and depend on each other for support.
What people who are burnt out often don’t realize is the usefulness of momentum. When a snowball starts rolling down the hill, there is a point where there is no stopping it getting bigger and bigger and bigger...