Mini Moment #15: The Hidden Cost of Loneliness in Our Industry

Transcript

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[00:00:04] Jen: Welcome back to the Inner Sanctum Salon Rising, the podcast mini moments brought to you by Timely. Hey guys, I am a flying solo today on this mini moment, which I think is pretty cool considering the topic that I am going to be discussing. So the topic for today is loneliness. And how loneliness impacts our work environment, our home environment, and our health.

[00:00:31] So I recently listened to a podcast with a dear friend of mine, Ange Davis. Now Ange was actually on our podcast. She was on about 18 months back. I urge you to go back and listen to some of her story because she's such a great insightful business advocate for health and wellbeing as well. And her podcast work and wellness is one of my favorite to listen to.

[00:00:55] But it was this particular point on loneliness that Ang brought up recently that I was just quite blown away by the statistics and it really, really landed for me. So it was talking about the physical impact or health impact of loneliness on the body.

[00:01:13] And a comparison of the fact that loneliness had a similar health impact as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. That just blew my mind because when I thought about this statistic, I went straight to our industry and how our industry impacts the loneliness of others, but also the struggles and loneliness that we get approached about a lot. And that's from people working within the industry that are feeling lonely, perhaps in their business or in their job.

[00:01:48] There were two things that really stuck out for me in this conversation, and one was around the fact that connection can be inconvenient.

[00:01:59] We're talking about how we are more connected than ever in this day and age, and yet loneliness seems to be ever more prevalent. So the inconvenience of actually having to leave your bubble to go and create connection can be a hurdle that sometimes people aren't willing to jump.

[00:02:13] But when you consider the fact that the health impact that you are facing, if you aren't taking that step can be so profound. Like why would you not be out seeking your people?

[00:02:25] The key I wanna say on this point is that connection may be inconvenient, but loneliness is very expensive, so it's easier to text than call. It's easier to cancel than show up. It's easier to scroll than sit with someone. It's easier to keep it transactional instead of humanizing it, but especially for the people that we are and the industry that we come from.

[00:02:47] These are all things that we are so good at. So it is time to sort of step into that inconvenience space and actually create connection. Modern life and business efficiency has quietly replaced presence, and we optimize systems, but sometimes forget the humans.

[00:03:05] the humans. We are operating in a service-based industry, we're often the only point of human contact that some people will have.

[00:03:16] You know, they come, they sit in our chair. We may be the only people that touch them. We may be the only people that take the time to ask them how they are. So as great as you can be at doing the service that you provide. Being that human ecosystem for someone that is sitting in your chair can be the most profound thing that you can provide them as part of their service.

[00:03:39] If you think about the fact that you could be the person that

[00:03:44] stops that physical impact, like smoking 15 cigarettes a day, that that loneliness is having on that person's life, that is absolutely a privilege and one that we cannot take lightly.

[00:03:56] It's the little things that will really make people feel like you have taken the time to get to know them, like remembering their name, eye contact, asking actual questions about who they are, and then listening when they respond, and creating an environment that feels warm and safe for the people that come into it.

[00:04:14] Now, this isn't just the employees that you have, but also the clients and customers that you have coming into your space.

[00:04:23] So let's take this time to reflect on how. Busy, tired or protected. We can become how easy it is to go into autopilot and how sometimes we are also lonely, even when we are serving others.

[00:04:36] And this is so important for a service-based industry. I really hope that this gives you time to pause and think about where you are sitting with your loneliness in yourself and in your body and in your life, but also thinking about as a greater industry as we see a huge move towards. Working solo freelancing, being part of that solo drive, what steps are you still taking to make sure that you feel like you have connection and a community around you?

[00:05:06] And are you actually stepping into the inconvenience so that you can make those connections and get out of your bubble? So, anywhere that you are feeling loneliness within this journey. It's so important to start seeking connection.

[00:05:23] Anyway, guys, I just wanted to chat briefly on this one. I hope it lands because it really landed for me, and this is a subject that I have written about also.

[00:05:37] Over on my LinkedIn, I expanded on it as well. So you can always find it over there. But yeah, just a little something to think about. And the next time you have someone sitting in your chair, just remember you could be improving their health just by taking the time to talk to them that day.

[00:05:59] Anyway, guys, thanks so much for listening to this mini moment and I'll be back with my wingman very soon.

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