On March 20, 2020, we moved our consulting practice to 100% virtual. I went from traveling 2 to 3X a month to zero. On the one hand I’m a bit of a lone wolf and can be solitary for a while. But then there’s the social part of me that misses adhoc conversations, coffee with friends, traveling, and just the energy that one gets from being f2f. Every now and then the sense of isolation threatens to overwhelm.
In one of the classes I teach, I encourage students to consider their social capital and social network - who they are connected to and what type of connection they have. An overarching concept inherent in social capital definitions is that social networks and the resultant social capital have value such as provision of goods and services, companionship, community, financial and emotional aid, and assistance with information and finding jobs. A simple exercise can be to draw circles on a piece of paper where circles represent the various spheres within which you walk (e.g., wife, daughter, sister, friend, teacher, coach, board member, citizen, etc.) then identify specific people within each sphere including what that person(s) means to you in terms of connection. I find this exercise energizing in the way I am reminded that although my existence is largely mediated by technology, I have a number of spheres within which I know people and can reach out to say hi, encourage, ask for advice, etc. Identifying your tribes is all about doing that which elevates your attention or reframes your mood in a new way.