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Simple things! I recently brought a new electric toothbrush that monitors time and pressure when cleaning your teeth. It comes with a timer, which has 4 stars (completed 2 mins) and also a face that either smiles, is neutral or frowns, depending on how you clean your teeth. There is also an App available to download, just in case you want to track results, but as it’s for me, I don’t use that.

I can’t believe it, but, seeing that smily face in my bathroom every morning makes me smile. The day begins with a smile! I was thinking that, if a digital smile could have that affect, what impact would a picture frame of real smiles (of my friends and family) have? So, this week I am contacting friends and family and asking them to send me their best (subjective I know) smiling picture they have. I am then going to put them all together in a frame and hang it on a wall. I will let you know how it goes.

Also, last week, I was going through an online safeguarding workshop, that I needed to complete as part of the fostering requirements, and there was a short video on how children can be affected by the way we interact with them. It began with a mother totally engaging with her 1 year old, who was in a high chair, and was then followed by the mother just staring at her child, no emotions, no engagement. The impact was brutal and ended with the child screaming and crying, and if this was a long term behaviour, would certainly damage the child emotionally. The mother did end up cuddling her child and it was a short demonstration, so no damage done.

I then went on a conference call, to run through a proposal with a client and I realised we are all experiencing the same thing as that child. Some people do really well at virtual engagement but it doesn’t last long because it would be too distracting, if we were really ourselves, using this method of communication. Everyone uses their ‘game face’ and the conversations were not the same as they would have been if we were presenting this at a face-to-face meeting.

How can we be natural, authentic and engaging using a virtual platform? A multi-user interface with small pictures of ’emotionally empty’ faces will never replace the face-to-face impact of human existence. We need to shake hands, embrace and be connected with other humans and that’s what I miss, the most, at the moment.

My week finished with a tough, but satisfying bike ride on Saturday and I felt as close to ‘normal’ as I could have possibly felt, at this time.

How are you hanging on to your sanity, positivity and emotional wellbeing at this time?

Here are some things you could do:

  • Focus on small positive things, to lift your spirits
  • Do something that gives you a sense of achievement
  • Get out in the fresh air and enjoy the world, before it gets really busy again
  • Help someone else to start their day well

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