Embrace your life and be present… before it’s too late.
Life is about enjoying not only your daily experiences (good and bad) but appreciating the people around you… As we grow older and wiser, it becomes obvious that taking the time to nurture relationships is becoming increasingly difficult. In today’s workplace, how rare is it to meet a colleague who is thoughtful AND generous of their time and energy in getting to really know you? The pace with which companies are changing forces employees to multi-task and stay focused on driving results, limiting time to care for human needs.
The term ‘quiet quitting’ made its way into the corporate setting late 2022-23 to describe the mentality of employees who invest the bare minimum effort, enthusiasm, and time at work – they meet the requirements according to their job description but offer nothing more. This same mentality was already socially pervasive in our society. With the advent of digital devices, we shortcut our methods of communication to the least amount of effort all the time. If one can get away with it, why not just text – no need to spell out full words or sentences, use proper grammar… An emoji is suffice. Why call that person, you don’t know their phone number and they probably won’t pick up anyways…
I would argue that in the spirit of being more efficient, or the flip side being lazy, time is the acceptable excuse for why people don’t feel the need to connect with others or in other words… care.
If you are reading this, I would like to throw out a challenge with the way you presently engage with others. Take a minute to reflect. Each person in your life is unique and offers something special. How much time do you really spend getting to know your colleagues personally? What does it cost you to lead with curiosity, show kindness and empathy for what may be going on in your colleagues’ lives? Not only will you be nurturing and growing your relationships, learning and discovering new and interesting things about them… But you’ll also be investing in your own wellbeing – caring for others takes care of your own heart too.
Be generous with your questions, thoughts and feelings. Take a few minutes with every interaction to pause, be curious, ask thoughtful questions and boost someone else’s confidence.
Don’t let a stranger walk away if you think their clothes/hair style is amazing or what they said in a meeting was provocative and insightful.
It doesn’t cost you a thing to appreciate others and make them smile.