Worldwide, internet users spend an average of 400 hours—that’s nearly seven hours—a day online, according to a new report. Let’s put it this way: many people around the world spend the equivalent of their entire childhood connected to the internet.
“I need it for my job” is one sentence I hear in defense of that automatic eye shift to your phone in your hand. “It’s nonnegotiable” is another. And that doesn’t even count the time spent streaming a show or a podcast.
Self-reflection and introspection may seem to many to be time wasted. Or a luxury in a world in which we have so little time and so much to do. However it’s far more than a luxury. You need to take time with NO INPUT at all from the outside. What does this give you? It helps you to deepen into a place within yourself that contains, well, YOU. The source of authenticity comes from a deep connection with yourself. It can be achieved by doodling. Walking in nature. Or simply sitting quietly with your eyes closed. Even better, don’t have music on so that you can listen to the silence.
Depth is one of the important parts of that intangible essence of leadership. Taking the time to connect with yourself leads to a deeper understanding of yourself and others. And it also gives you a cutting edge: The level at which you connect with others cannot be deeper than the level at which you have connected with yourself. In other words, you see more. More of yourself, and more of others. Who wouldn’t want that?
Photo by Almost Bechtold at Unsplash