TBD 108: Horseshoes, not doom loops
2025 is going to be a year to build community.
My son started middle school and my only advice was this:
“Horseshoes not circles. Leave room for someone or something new!”
How to stop a doom loop and open up a horseshoe in 2025:
We’re having quite a time. Layoffs, industry transitions, seemingly broken interviewing, echo chambers and whatever other algorithmic hells make you feel connected-ish but also very alone, isolated and option-less.
Or maybe you’re working hard and you’re burnt to a crisp…but terrified to lose what you’ve got. Don’t want to stay, but can’t seem to go.
Stress limits our thinking, gives us tunnel vision (literally!). We’re less creative, less confident, and feel there truly are fewer and fewer options. Fear shuts us down.
Isolation (whether physical or mental) keeps us stuck in our own ruts trying to figure it all out on our own. This is a mistake. We get unstuck with help from others.
In 2025, make time to find or build community. Find a group, start a lunch meet up, find that community group, volunteer somewhere nearby a few times.
Connecting with other people helps you move from closed loop doom thinking into a horse shoe - new openings, new connections, new support and new ways to contribute.
If we’ve been in our job or career for awhile, we might not as practiced in opening to new learning or communities. We’re just too busy! We’re not sure where to start. We really don’t have the time.
I’d still encourage you to start small and start now.
How to get back into a community?
At work:
Thinking about building relationships can help us take effective control of building those connections rather than leaving it to chance.
What new relationships do you need to build?
What skills do you need to improve?
Where can you find lessons, best practices or opportunities to practice with others?
In your network:
We all have networks of some kind, even if you need to dust yours off a bit its worth reconnecting with folks you already know.
Who do you need to reconnect with?
Who do you need to keep in better touch with (even if that’s 1x a year)?
Who would you like to be connected with?
How do you plan to do that?
In local community:
So much of our lives are spent on screens. How are you connected to people living or working in your community?
What communities are you interested in being a part of?
Could you join and contribute to a community locally?
Can you make a commitment to show up (even a small commitment)?My most popular posts
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