May 4, 20233 min read

The Key to Feeling Connected

This week, the US Surgeon General declared loneliness a public health epidemic, likening it's negative health effects to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

But 'lonely' doesn't mean you're off the grid in a secluded cabin in the woods. "You can feel lonely even if you have a lot of people around you, because loneliness is about the quality of your connections." - Dr. Vivek Murthy

So how do you improve the quality of your connections?

A quick google search will give you tons of ideas to get and stay connected:

Call up an old friend
Join a book club
Volunteer
Learn a new skill or hobby
Join a local community group or organization
Join a writing, art, hiking, photography, bird watching group

And these are all great ideas.

They're just starting in the wrong place.

If you're feeling disconnected from others, the first thing you need to do is check IN on the connection to yourself ✨

Internal connection is a pre-requisite to honest and authentic communication with others.

But we skip it.... because we're busy, it's boring, we don't have time for it, we're 'not good at it', we don't know the benefits, or for many of us, we don't like what we find in the stillness.

We're so used to practicing looking outside for how we should be, that we forget the answer is already here, it's just on the inside.

I wonder what would happen if we made inner connection a priority every single day (even for just 2 minutes!).

You would likely (among many other benefits):

Experience more self-compassion and self-acceptance

Feel more calm and at peace with what is

Reduce stress and anxiety

Tap into your creativity

Improve your emotional regulation

You have countless opportunities to make a Daily YouTurn.

Journaling

Meditating

Gratitude practices

Finding even just a few moments of quiet and stillness

Breathing (pranayama) practice

Spending time outdoors

Embodying practices like yoga and dance

If you don't know which practices help you 'come home', take the time to find out. Start small. Try something new.

This is not a one and done.

Develop consistent habits for checking in, and connect deeply with the person you spend the most time with, YOU. From that place, you are better able to establish deep, and importantly, REAL, connections with others

*Btw, check out How to Create Connection During Difficult Times.

This is a favorite post, and includes a treasured Pema Chodron practice that has had a profound impact on my own life.

Watch what changes ✨

***

If you are feeling disconnected from yourself and/or those around you, not sure how to create time for self-care, and/or wishing you had deeper connections....

First, know that you are not alone (and there is help available).

Second, you will not believe what changes when you join us in Life.. On Purpose and learn the secrets, tips, and tricks for deep inner and outer connection.