Hopefully you subscribe to our Onward newsletter and you saw that my word for 2020 is CONNECTION. This is a core value of mine, and I am curious to see how this shows up for me in 2020.
Today I want to share some great resources that talk about how social connection may just be the most important factor in our happiness. Yesterday I listened to this ON Purpose podcast conversation between Jay Shetty and Laurie Santos. Professor Santos teaches a class at Yale University called Psychology and the Good Life. This is the most popular class at Yale and 1 in 4 Yale students take this course. The podcast discusses the course and provides specific ways we can be intentional about improving our happiness.
I got so much out of the podcast, and I wanted to share a couple strategies that I am going to implement. Jay and Laurie talk about the need to socially connect in real time with people. To get beyond the surface level questions and get deep into conversation and connection. I travel a lot for my job and I usually wear my AirPods in the airport and on the plane in part because I am probably listening to a podcast or a book on Audible, and subconsciously to say, I am tired and don’t want to engage with you. Being the ultimate professor, Laurie gave the podcast listeners homework: to engage in conversation and connection with strangers. Even though I am an extrovert, this will be a good challenge for me.
The other concept that resonated with me was the concept of time affluence. As a wife and mom to two teenage boys with a full time job that includes a lot of travel, I realized that I am lacking in time affluence. As Laurie suggested, I picked a random day next month to schedule in a 2 hour “time affluence meeting”. This will be such a treat when this day shows up!
Stay tuned in coming months, I will blog on these experiences. And I would love to hear your thoughts on this podcast. Let’s build community by adding to the comments below.
And if you are interested in this Yale University course, you can take it for free through Coursera: The Science of Well-Being.
Hi Janet, I have recently discovered your site and appreciate it so much. I am a licensed school counselor in Colorado doing this work within our school. I have recently co-authored a resource for families, educators and counselors called The Family Strong Blueprint. We begin the book with a brief overview of attachment theory and the research revealing this is the most “connected” generation but the ones experiencing the least amount of community (Dr. Tim Elmore). The Family Strong Blueprint supports building strong connection with our teenagers. It’s an interactive workbook for parents and teens to dialogue and share stories, identify core values, establish family agreements, develop a growth mindset, and intentionally celebrate growth together as family. We know a strong emotional connection increases the love and life we experience as family. How can I provide you with a copy for your family of teenagers? Let’s connect! Lindsey
Sounds like much needed work Lindsey. Would love to connect. janet@brightmorningteam.com