The world is changing at a rate we’ve never seen before. Our workplace demographics look different, the expectations and norms are evolving and with hybrid working challenges, increased burnout, the evolution of AI and economic uncertainty, we’re looking to unite around common goals and cultivate a sense of belonging.
The World Economic Form has called it a poly crisis and with the geo-political situation across the globe, cost of living crisis, budget cuts and climate change, there’s a lot to think about.
Post pandemic, we’ve seen a rise of division rather than unity and less tolerance towards others, especially those with views different to our own. A rise of the far right across many countries politically, and an increase in violence, mis and dis information, provides an ominous future.
Brene Brown has called this ‘living beyond human scale’ and I think this sums it up perfectly. I reckon that’s why we’re struggling the way that we are and feeling the impact. We’re simply living a life and in a system our brains and bodies have not been designed for. It’s like trying to fight a raging bushfire with a garden hose or battle floodwater with a teacup.
Our world has evolved so quickly, especially in the last couple of decades, and we’re not designed to keep up. It’s having huge impacts on our mental health and ability to live life. We’re not designed to be connected 24/7 or for this scale of information overload in the brain. We’re not wired to be sat in offices all day doing work that doesn’t bring meaning, yet takes us away from our families.
Even the food we eat these days isn’t stuff our bodies have been designed to eat. I reckon it’s why we see so many food intolerances. It’s not that we have an issue in the body, but rather there’s an issue with what we’re putting in it and how our food sources have changed over recent years. The same is true of what we’re putting in our minds.
Our constant busyness and drive to do more is increasing our burnout rates and impacting our mental health, and yet we’re conditioned to chase the material and sacrifice what matters. We’ve been conditioned to think that more is always better and working hard will provide rewards, and that everything on our to-do list should be treated like an emergency. As a result, we’re living in fight-flight and a constant state of threat when this is designed to be a temporary measure the body undertakes to mitigate risk.
Add to this a massive disconnection and sense of loneliness in a world that’s never been more virtually connected. We’ve lost real connection in this world of hyper connectivity. Connection to ourselves (who we are and what’s important), connection to each other (kindness and compassion) and connection to the present moment. Our loss of connection to nature is contributing to the climate crisis and a fundamental part of our wellness to the point at which green therapy is now prescribed by some doctors. There’s also the connection to something bigger, our sense of meaning and purpose that so many of us struggle to find in our work, leading to low employee engagement across the globe.
Our brains are not designed to deal with the barrage of social media we consume. The reels, the information, the impacts on our attention span and the way we feel about ourselves. Kids are being diagnosed with a raft of conditions never before known. It’s got me asking ‘is it the kids or is it the systems we’re trying to fit them into that we’re not designed for?’ Over testing, under resourced teachers, information overload, distracted parents, over protected but under nourished.
When you look at everything that’s going on for us right now, it’s not surprising it can feel hard. I believe Brene Brown is right. This comes about because we’re living beyond human scale. We’re not designed to cope with the way our world has been set up and we’re seeing the consequences.
It something that saddens me and drives me to make a difference. I believe the solution lies in calmony. Connecting to what matters, finding a way that works for us to exist in the world we live and of course to redesign our life so we can live according to human scale not beyond it.
It’s the subject of the next book I’m currently working on and something I think the world needs, now more than ever.
We need space in our lives, our minds and our schedules. Space to hear the things that matter. To reconnect with the things that matter and spend time with the people that matter, doing the things that matter. To reconnect with the things we’ve known for hundreds of years make us whole; nature, each other, our breath, our passion and purpose.
We’ve become human doings rather than human beings and we live a fast life, not always a good one. I believe the answer lies is cultivating calmony not pursuing happiness. If we think our happiness is found in external things, we’ll always be searching and we’ll also be at the whim of external circumstances which we know we don’t control. However, if we cultivate calmony we have an inner peace that is there irrespective on what’s happening externally. We can control our own sense of joy, fulfilment and happiness – imagine!
It’s about putting the being back into human being and in turn improving our wellbeing and our state of being. It’ll be a determining factor in those who can thrive and those who are only just managing to survive the world in which we live.
I’m passionate about bringing the ‘being’ back to human-being. To connect to ourselves and also each other, to connect to something bigger, to know who we are, what lights us up and how we be in the world.
I use ancient wisdom for modern problems. It’s stood the test of time for a reason and when we come back to basics and combine this unique intelligence with the science that proves it to be true, I believe we best equip ourselves for the future and our chances of happiness.
Happy humans make a better world.
Find out more about the workshops and programmes I run to support you and your team in this current climate.