Photo by Luis Quintero of Pexels
This is the age of new leadership…
In March 2020, we became a digital-first world. Otherwise we really have no choice. Overnight, everything changed. We have to figure out how to keep up. We have to learn how to adapt. We are still learning. We’re still trying to figure out what new role we should play in this new future. As a leader, it’s not just about leading our company’s accelerated digital transformation. It also involves understanding and leading digital transformation in our personal lives.
Don’t lose sight of the fact that we have changed and are changing because of the impact of numbers on our lives. The key to mastering change without being shaped by it is understanding the why and how.
This is a topic close at hand.
I researched the impact of mobile devices, social media, advertising games in the online world to understand how we are changing. I learned that digitization has a way of changing us. It doesn’t always get better. Since 2020, we have had to embrace digitization as a matter of survival in our lives and work, which has also changed us. Since then, we’ve only picked up the pace, but we haven’t had the opportunity to slow down to understand how we’ve changed, what’s good, what’s reducing our potential, what’s helping us, and what’s hurting, And what to move forward consciously in a different way.
Before that, I wrote a book that seemed more timely in this new world than it was then, LifeSCALE: How to Live a More Creative, Productive, Happier Life. This book shares a research-based path to personal transformation in a digital-first world. This story, and our response to it, is even more relevant now.
We need to re-establish the social contract with our devices and apps, and the time they occupy our time in this new world.
We need to take control of how digitization plays a role in our lives.
Taking control is about using digital with purpose, setting boundaries, growing with purpose, being more focused, and being more authentic.
Taking control is not about giving digital license to distract us from our focus or presence, to make us feel less of who we are, or to prevent us from truly living our best lives.
Taking control is using digital technology in a way that makes us happier, more conscious and open-minded. Conscious use of digital means seeing what happiness and greatness look and feeling, becoming a better person, being smarter, learning, unlearning and adapting to new jobs and lifestyles. It’s about being more creative and less distracting or robbing us of our potential.
Amid all these changes, we cannot ignore our own happiness.New digital programs come with huge responsibilities and Accountability. It also shows us the need to learn new skills not only to work, but to understand and practice self-care to thrive in our personal lives.
Digital health will now be part of our everyday lives. It has to be something you and I decide we’re going to have.
As leaders, we must help our teams, our employees, our communities and our loved ones, especially our young people, learn to be more mindful, embrace disciplines that embody well-being, and start healthier and more purposeful Lifestyle…because numbers aren’t going away.
We are now on a perpetual path to accelerate the digital revolution, for better or worse. I think this is an option.
We are already starting to see the line between digital blurring and physical blurring. We use our phones more than 100 times a day, staring at an immersive world through small windows for hours a day. Apple is about to launch its augmented reality glasses. Facebook and Ray Ban have launched their new digital glasses here. Snap recently launched a drone with a pocket that works with users to capture moments on demand. Meta’s Oculus and new virtual worlds, including emerging ones, are only going to become more and more a part of our lives.
Now is the time to take control of our happiness and help others meet these new challenges and opportunities with new skills.
We need to take the time to focus on our relationship with numbers and each other. We need to re-establish our social contract and how we use these devices in our lives and work. But more importantly, we all need to hit the pause button, breathe, look up and become more present. We need to spend time in our daily lives for more self-care, creativity and ingenuity.
The world around us is changing, and we can define who we want to be, where we want to be, and how we will be in this new world scale Our lives toward these goals and aspirations, and our vision for a happier life, begin today.
Please watch a short video on the subject…
