We can feel misunderstood and find ourselves in the wrong environments, doing the wrong thing. Sometimes we strive to be seen and heard by others, not realising that we need to see ourselves first. Self-reflection, and understanding what stage of our life or career we’re currently at, what we want from it, what our role is, and why we’re doing what we’re doing, can significantly impact our interactions with others. If you can’t connect to people, you need to connect to yourself first.
Why Holding Your Own Space Matters
Usually, we struggle to connect with others while expecting a specific outcome. But coming from a place of “this is what I have to give” rather than “what am I getting out of this?” will make your interactions more fulfilling. We might be looking for validation where we should be able to hold our own space and value. If we can’t do this for ourselves, we start placing our worth in other people’s hands, leaving interactions and environments disappointingly confused.
What You Bring Changes Everything
If we know what we have to offer, what fires us up, and where we want to go, we naturally gravitate towards people and opportunities that are right for us. Suddenly, everything seems to unfold with more ease. Equally, we can’t expect others to hand us answers we don’t have for ourselves yet. And when we think we’ve finally figured it all out, life gets busy, we end up on autopilot and forget what we were doing and why. It’s exactly the time to hit the brakes and remind ourselves.
Intention Over Box Ticking
It’s an opportunity to inject more clarity into your life, make sure you’re going in the right direction, or pivot completely. Whatever you decide to do is not as important as the fact that you do it with intention. You understand why you make specific choices and where they lead you, what you invest, and what you get out. It’s not always a matter of sitting down and catching up on our goals. Sometimes, we need time to ourselves to clear our mind, and other times we need external input. Talking to others or changing our environment can spark a new idea, offer a different perspective, and help with inspiration.
Ask These Questions to Connect to Yourself
Here’s something to get you started. Download the connection starter question toolkit to help you think about what’s important to you, what you should or should not be doing by now and where your head’s at. This is just to start you going, make you consider whether there are any changes you’d like to make and if so why. It also encourages you to think about how you show up for yourself and in conversations with others. Before you can connect to other people, connect to yourself first.
Change Your Environment Get New Perspective
If you prefer to change your environment and chat about your goals with others to gain more clarity, join us on the next hike to The Devil’s Punch Bowl on Saturday 25th April. There’s a plenty of topics to be explored, from book club regulars to fitness enthusiasts, we usually end up in conversations about health, science, psychology, or business, as well as new challenges and achievements that we want to share with others. Come along and see for yourself! Book your place on Eventbrite here.
