COMMENT: The speed at which humans operate is too fast. Technology has made everything happen at a pace that we have trouble managing, says Catherine Spitzer, managing director of Bidwells.
We tell ourselves: “We have this technology that enables us to take time for ourselves.” But we actually do the opposite and attempt more things within the same amount of time.
We need downtime. To be successful, we need time to think.
We need to find ways of cutting out the noise and making the quiet. At Bidwells we are looking at setting up mindfulness classes, yoga instruction, and more.
We are overusing our mind, and in so doing, damaging it. The number of mental health incidents is exponentially above what it was. I don’t think that is because we talk about it more, I think it is because we are overloading ourselves.
If we overused our body in the same way that we overuse our mind, we would see and feel the effects of this maltreatment, but we often miss the damage that overwork and stress do.
We are pushing too hard. Instead, we need to stop trying to do, and just be.
It is time to self-regulate. It used to be that we went to the office at 8am and left at 6pm – and left our work at work. We went home, rested and recovered.
It’s not like that anymore. We have got to learn that it is okay to not answer emails at 10pm, and that your phone has an off button.
We must learn how to control technology and how to integrate it into a balanced life.
