What is your level of connection?

- What is your current level of connection? When I coach individuals I like to have them do a self-assessment using a diagram of Atlas, the figure in Greek mythology who is condemned to bear the weight of the heavens on his shoulders. I encourage you to download and print out the handout, titled Connection Assessment. As we go along feel free to pause the video and write down your responses. Take a look at Atlas. What weight are you carrying on your shoulders? Think about categories such as work, relationships, finances, health, parenting, trauma, discrimination, and politics. In and around the sphere write down the stressors in your life. Atlas needs enough strength to carry the stress. If his legs are weak, he's more likely to collapse. That's true for you and me too. Looking at the diagram, you'll see one of Atlas's legs is labeled connection and the other is resilience. Let's start with connection. Think about family and friends, colleagues at work and people in your community. I'm going to ask you some questions so feel free to pause the video and give yourself some time to answer each question I ask, okay. Ask yourself, who supports me? Who has my back? Who would I turn to if I were in a difficult situation? Who would I go to for advice? Who energizes me? Who do I enjoy spending time with? Write the names of those individuals, or groups, next to the leg marked connection. Next, identify resilience factors. Ask yourself, what do I do to restore my energy and be healthy? You might answer by writing down sleep, diet, exercise, rest, meditation or prayer, or expressing gratitude. Now I'd like you to go back and spend time reflecting on each area of the diagram. Let's start with the stressors. For example, work. Using a scale of one to 10, with 10 being high and one being low, rate this stressor. Now go back and use the scale to rate all your stressors. Then look at the names you wrote down under connection and rate each one using the same scale. Do the same for the resilience factors. Looking over the ratings of the stressors, connectors and resilience factors are there areas that stand out to you? For instance, if you rated finances as a major stressor, can you be more specific? Do you need to reduce your debt or put aside more for a rainy day? When it comes to connection, are there friends or colleagues you need to spend more time with to strengthen those connections? When it comes to resilience, do you need to schedule regular exercise into your calendar? I encourage you to lean into the power of connection by speaking with a trusted friend about what you discover through the self-assessment, including your thoughts on actions you might need to take. I want to emphasize that connection has a systemic effect on your body. First, it reduces the negative effects of stressors. Second, it increases your resilience by improving sleep quality and strengthening your willpower to eat healthy and exercise. Because of connections systemic multiplier effect it's a must. With that in mind, write down one action you can take to boost connection in your life. Begin connecting today and watch how it impacts you.