Size matters, and when considering the extreme miniaturization of today’s microchips, it matters greatly. The devices these advanced technologies allowed us to build and use are so small they have changed our quality of life in one generation. Just look at your phone and consider how many functions it possesses which required large, separate devices only a few years ago. We use these electronic devices to create an information-driven cocoon and control our life from it. Many commonly used devices, from watches to cameras to radio and TV dials to cars used mostly mechanical parts to control and operate and required frequent manual attention. Today’s devices are purely electronic and contain few if any moving parts, requiring no winding, calibrating, or resetting. Buttons, dials, and switches gave way to touchscreens and voice commands, and many of these gadgets are now consolidated into our personal devices. They provide quick and easy ways to control a great portion of our physical and mental environment while increasing the safety and comfort of our personal space. Even still, without our attention or awareness, our physical environments are constantly monitored for comfort and safety against numerous hazards. Our world is so cozy we can sustain many of our needs and whims with a simple push of a button. Our lives look better than they were envisioned in sci-fi media only a few years back.
As safe and comfortable and inviting as all this may be, our universe is not limited to our phone or tablet. The people who form our inner circle, our support system, are the more prominent part of it. They are our family, close friends, trusted therapists and coaches, coworkers, and neighbors – all those whom we can call on in a time of need. Their ability to support our emotional and spiritual needs is far greater than what we may find in an app. Our support network provides us with real, life-sustaining properties to help us advance in daily life and help us conquer personal and professional challenges. These people are not equipped with touch screens and setting menus or require winding up or calibration to maintain their effective interface with us. No automation here, but if our relationship is left unattended, it may cause our connection with them to slowly decay and eventually fail, slowly in some cases, faster in others. Either way, by the time the damage is realized, it may be too late to repair.
Much like regularly tending to your devices, nurturing your support system is as so if not more crucial. There are many actions you could take to keep your life on the right path and your support systems flawlessly functioning. Here are a few ideas on how to do that:
- Keep maintaining your personal channels. Communicate regularly with members of your network to check in, hear how they are doing, and let them know how you are.
- Engage in honest conversations with trusted members of your network to explore issues that you wish to clarify and resolve. Listen to their concerns and use their input to apply changes to your life.
- Strive to do the same for them. Learn to become a voice of reason who offers honesty and clarity when their path is foggy.
- Keep a journal to chronicle your thoughts and feelings. Use it to periodically reflect on your growth and progress.
- Use your conversations and journal to maintain a mindful perspective of your world. Apply this perspective to adjust and strengthen the different paths your life takes.
When properly applied, this practice will give you a clear view of your challenges and your progress through them. The effort it will require is relatively small but its benefits are plentiful. They could save you from pain and disappointment and help you keep your life on a healthy and prosperous course.