Connecting with Self during the Pandemic
On April 8th, I attended a virtual event hosted by Neythri Member, Rachel Parikh, and her partner at Leaders’ Quest, Annie Perrin, titled “Connect and Recharge.” It centered around managing your personal energy and building resiliency, especially during these challenging times. The hosts talked us through how we could maintain positive energy and good health while heightening the awareness of our inner feelings.
There were many takeaways for me from the session. The first was understanding what resilience is and what it is not. Resilience is not overcoming our emotions and forging ahead, but rather, embracing the current moment and adapting to it.
The second takeaway was the structure of delineating our sources of energy into four buckets: Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual. Whether we feel exhausted, anxious, content, or ecstatic, understanding the energy levels in each of these buckets can be very useful in isolating the root from which our feelings stem from.
During the session, we all completed an online self-assessment questionnaire to gauge our energy levels on these four dimensions. The results from the test laid bare the source of my anxiety during these uncertain times. I scored low on Spiritual energy, uncovering my sense of a lack of meaningful purpose. It reinforced my realization that my sense of purpose is intrinsically tied to work.
I think many would find this framework very useful. It is well known that Physical energy is enhanced via healthy eating habits and regular exercise. Replenishing your Mental energy requires you to create time and space to disengage from work to relax and reflect. The Emotional energy centers around relationships with family and friends, enjoying leisure time, pursuing hobbies.
I know a lot of my friends are feeling exhausted, mainly because working from home has diffused the line between work and home. They are continually tapping their mental energy without taking any breaks to recharge. I’ve heard several friends say they miss their commute — it was their time alone. It looks like a lot more people will start appreciating their commute to work when this pandemic is over. On the other hand, some are using this time at home to pursue old or new hobbies like playing an instrument or gourmet cooking. Everybody is reaching out and connecting with distant family and friends via video calls.
As for me, I now get to dwell upon the purpose of life. Is it finding meaning through your professional work, or can it be decoupled from it? When we crave to have an impact, is it to satisfy our need for fulfillment or to help others? When my consulting project was put on hold mid-March due to shelter-in-place orders, I was frustrated, disappointed, and anxious about the future job market. However, I am grateful I don’t have the economic stress that many who have lost their jobs do. As I write this, reflecting and recognizing the source of my anxiety has remarkably helped me come to terms with it. Resilience is, after all, embracing the present.
Author Bio Paawan is a generalist, her career has ranged from technology consulting to corporate marketing at IBM to entrepreneurship in the food industry. She strives to delight her customers (internal or external) and enjoys bringing structure to chaos. She has an MBA from INSEAD and an M.S in Computer Science from USC.
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