What comes to your mind when you hear the word “engaged”?
Probably the thought of someone you know who’s about to get married, right?
However, the word ‘engaged’ is complex and has got to do a lot with human thoughts, feelings and behavior. It is about being committed to ‘something’ or ‘someone’.
Another way of thinking about engaged is ‘being present’. Being present is the act of being in the “here and now”. It’s important to engage with other people our lives without the distractions of mobile phones and social media.
A lot of us believe we are available 24/7 via mobile phones, email, and social media channels. However, ‘being available’ should not be confused with ‘being engaged’. Engagement requires commitment, focus, and attention. We need to be engaged and stay engaged with the things that matter to us and, most importantly, we need to be available for ourselves.
Here are 7 honest ways to help you stay engaged in everyday life:
1. Align Yourself To The Bigger Picture
Aligning to the big picture is about seeing the forest and not just the trees. It means look at the work that you do holistically and not just as a solo activity. Your contribution at work or in any other aspect of your life is more important than you think.
How You Can Align Yourself To The Bigger Picture
Schedule some definite time in your calendar just for thinking and not doing. Find a partner and brainstorm ideas on any challenge/problem that you’re dealing with. Focus on generating ideas without trying to solve the problem at hand. Once you have generated as many ideas as possible, you can pick a few ideas and prioritize them for solutions.
Why This Is Important In Order To Stay Engaged In Life
Looking at the big picture helps you to stay motivated, allows you to see scope for improvement and hence, stay engaged. It serves to reinforce the real reason for the activities you do daily. You will start to take your eyes away from obstacles, look at them as opportunities to improve and continuously have new ideas in your mind. As a big thinker, you would be able see possibilities, jump on opportunities and be willing to take risks because you would see the chance to make big gains.
Aligning to the big picture means realizing that what you do has an impact on the world around you. Scheduling some time to just think about possible ideas to solve a problem is much more useful than just jumping to a solution. It let’s you understand the scale of the your work and helps to stay engaged and stay present.
2. Express Gratitude For What You Have
Gratitude is about focusing on what’s good in our lives and being grateful for what we have. Gratitude is being able to pause, notice and appreciate the things that we often take for granted. Having a job to do helps us in several ways; having a place to live, food, and the means to lead a respectful life. Gratitude is taking a moment to reflect on how fortunate we are when something good happens — whether it’s a small thing or a big thing.
How You Can Be More Grateful For What You Have
You can build the habit of being grateful by paying attention every day to things you’re glad to have in your life. Slow down and notice what’s around you, be thankful for what you are learning on the job, reflect on what adversity is teaching you and be thankful for the lessons. Reflect on what you have become as a person by doing the work you have now.
Have you been mentored by anyone in your job? Thank the person for investing the time in you. Have you mentored or been of help to someone else? Thank that person to have trusted you for that.
Why This Is Important In Order To Stay Engaged In Life
Expressing your thanks can improve your overall sense of well-being. Gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude is also a powerful tool for strengthening interpersonal relationships and this greatly boosts your ability to stay engaged in life.
In a world that’s moving so fast, we don’t have the time to stop and be thankful for the things we have and the opportunities we are given. Build the habit of gratitude by paying attention to the world around you. It will strongly increase your level of happiness and boost your ability to stay engaged in every aspect of your life.
3. Break The Monotony
Monotony can be very boring because it has a regular, repetitive pattern which never changes. Monotony can be physical or mental. In the physical world, it is the repetition of the same movement over and over. It becomes a mechanical act that the individual does not have to think about. In the workplace, mental monotony can be performing the same task without any thought to how it is being done. Monotony can drastically lower morale, disconnect you from your work and even lead to depression.
How You Can Break Monotony And Stay Engaged
You can break a big task into a series of sub-tasks. This would give you a more frequent sense of accomplishment, keep the interest level high and the monotony at bay. Listening to music decreases monotony, gives the feeling that time passes more rapidly and makes work seemingly easier. A friendly chat with one of your colleagues will help you gain new perspective about the way you currently deal with work. Talk to your manager and request for a change in the nature of your job for a while. Job enrichment can help you overcome the stress of dealing with the same task every day.
Why This Is Important In Order To Stay Engaged In Life
Monotony can influence your emotions, way of thinking and even lead to medical conditions like depression. Job monotony is one of the alarming causes of work-related stress and can be quite fatal for your mental health as well.
A major factor that stops us from being truly present is the monotony of our lives. Our routines can get very boring and disengaging. Breaking big tasks into smaller sub-tasks will give you a frequent sense of achievement, keeping you interested and engaged. Changing your environment will give you additional inspiration and will keep you engaged in everyday life.
4. Look Forward To Learning Something New
Learning can be broadly defined as enriching, building on and changing existing understanding, where one’s knowledge base is a scaffold that supports the construction of all future skills and experiences. At the core, learning is a process that results in a change in knowledge or behavior as a result of experience. Understanding what it takes to get that knowledge in and out or promote behavioral change of a specific kind can help optimize learning.
How You Can Work On Learning Something New
Read books and articles to expand your awareness – it is one of the most effective ways to learn. Make it a point to read every day at least for 15 minutes. If you are averse to reading, listen to a podcast/audio book or watch a video on a subject of your interest.
Take a class to keep your mind engaged – It can be anything from technology to psychology or anything that interests you! Meet new people to expand your network. Interacting with people is one of the best ways to learn. Make it a point to get to know new people on a regular basis.
Why This Is Important In Order To Stay Engaged In Life
Learning new things keeps your interest level high and helps you to stay engaged so you don’t get bored as easily. When you learn something new, your mind and your perceptions change, which in turn makes it easier to adapt to the inevitable changes life always tends to bring. Learning paves way for you to become a more interesting person. Being a more interesting person will draw others to you and improve the quality of your life as your relationships improve and deepen.
Learning is a process that results in a change in knowledge or behavior as a result of experience. Reading, listening to podcasts or watching knowledge enriching videos can help to keep your interest levels high and help you stay engaged. Learning new skills will make you a more interesting person and improve the overall quality of your life.
5. Leverage Your Talents To Tap Into The State Of Flow
Flow, a term coined by the psychologist Mihály Csíkszentmihályi, occurs when you are completely immersed in an activity when you lose the sense of time. This can happen only when your talents and strengths are put to good use. In this state, you tend to forget what’s happening around you except the task at hand. In a state of flow, you would love what you are doing; feel invigorated, in control, highly engaged and positively challenged.
How You Can Get Into The State Of Flow To Stay Engaged
Choose a task that requires your full concentration and is meaningful to you. Work on this task when you experience peak energy during the day. If required, take measures to prevent interruptions by working in a secluded place or shutting your office door. Turn off or put away your smartphone to minimize distractions. Just switching off your smartphone will increase your productivity multifold and help you stay engaged and immersed in the task at hand.
Why This Is Important In Order To Stay Engaged In Life
It is very crucial that you feel happy while at work, and leave the office with a sense of meaningful accomplishment. Achieving flow is not always easy. It may take time to find the right environment or the right kind of task that aligns with your talents & strengths. With practice, you can achieve flow and significantly increase your ability to stay engaged at work.
‘Flow’ is a state of complete immersion in an activity and it happens when you use your talents and skills at the highest level you can. Working on a fun task that requires your full concentration and removing all distractions will increase your productivity and help you completely stay engaged.
6. Focus On Your Overall Wellbeing
The meaning of wellbeing is multidimensional.
Physically, it is the lifestyle choices that affect the functioning of your body.
Emotionally, it is your ability to cope with everyday life, how you think and feel about yourself.
Mentally, it’s how you expand your knowledge and skills in order to live successful life.
Spiritually, it’s your ability to experience & integrate meaning and purpose in life.
How You Can Focus On Your Wellbeing To Stay Engaged In Life
Build connections with people; talk and listen to others and always live in the moment. Be active; do what you can and enjoy what you do. Be grateful; remember the simple things that give you joy. Keep learning; embrace new experiences and seek new opportunities. Give; give people your time, your words and your presence.
Why This Is Important In Order To Stay Engaged In Life
Feelings of wellbeing are fundamental to our overall health, enabling us to successfully overcome difficulties and achieve what we want out of life. The way you feel, both physically and mentally, is the essence of living. Your perception and your ability to observe your thoughts and feelings is what separates you from other beings. You owe it to yourself to live your life to the fullest while you have the chance. Whatever your definition of wellbeing, strive to do whatever it takes to improve it.
Wellbeing means taking care of yourself holistically in all four dimensions; physical, mental, emotional & spiritual. Take specific time throughout your day to nurture all these dimensions. You will get the energy to stay focused and pay attention to any task that has been assigned to you or that you have committed to do.
7. Take Small Breaks And Rejuvenate
A break is a short pause of work, physical or mental exertion. You decide to give it a rest with the intention of getting back to your task within a reasonable amount of time. Appropriate breaks aid in refreshing your brain and help you see a situation in a new way.
How You Can Leverage Taking Breaks To Stay Engaged In Life
Getting up from your chair to walk, stretch, do yoga, or whatever activity you prefer can reduce the negative health effects of too much sitting. Briefly taking our minds off the goal, leaving your work environment, going to another area will help your brain rest and switch gears. Just a 5-minute walk every hour can improve your health and well-being.
If your work requires you to use your logical left-brain, deliberately choose a break activity that will engage your creative and visual right-brain—like drawing or just doodling.
Why This Is Important In Order To Stay Engaged In Life
Working for long stretches without breaks can lead to stress and exhaustion. Taking breaks refreshes the mind, replenishes your mental resources, and helps you become more creative. Briefly taking our minds off the goal can renew and strengthen motivation. Deactivating and reactivating your goals allows you to stay engaged and focused.
Often times, we get so caught up with something that needs to get done under tight deadlines. Especially, if the task needs too much of thinking it can take a big toll on your psyche and drain you mentally. Take a break, shift your attention from the work that you are doing, do something that can relax your mind & body. Resume the work after short break.
