Our company has done a great job positioning our team to work from home during the coronavirus outbreak. I had a goal last week to attempt a video-based message on Linked In to attempt to get more comfortable with video as a medium in general, as well as within the Linked In application.
As Friday afternoon grew later, thinking about what a worthwhile post would look like, I found myself reflecting on the challenges we were facing within our community, our American society, and across the globe. I also found myself pivoting to thoughts on gratitude, and our collective good fortune. Here was what I came up with:
I was very surprised by the reaction to the post. I didn’t expect more than a few people to see it, much less respond in private messages. More than 1000 viewed the post and more than a handful sent me personal notes.
Earlier today I was listening to a talk with @JonHaidt about the implications of social psychology to humans’ approach to dealing with the coronavirus and he ended with some thoughts about happiness. Without quoting directly, he suggested that happiness isn’t found within ourselves but is rather found in between connections; In other words, if you look within yourself for a source of contentment and purpose, it is less likely that you will find it than if you focus on the connection between yourself and your friends and family, your business, or other organizations and ideas.
To each of you that connected with me based on this Linked In post, I found a tremendous amount of happiness as a result. Thank you.