Socializing

The Week of Self-Awareness is almost complete, cognitive ninjas.  Just one more Daily Mind Game to go!  For those of you who may have missed the week this far, we've been engaged in some active self-observation in order to become more conscious of our behavior.  We've completed five challenges so far, and in doing so have felt feelings, ate mindfully, tracked our movements, audited our own work, and (hopefully) had some fun.  For the final challenge of the week, let's think socially, shall we?

Guess which one is my homunculus? All of them!

Are you social? For today's challenge, I'd like you to try to answer that question.  However, as in the previous challenges for this Week of Self-Awareness, don't just think of the answer: observe your own behavior today to get a sense of your level of social interaction.

Why do we care about this?  Social support is a strong predictor of better health outcomes for every disease studied (that I know of).  The stress-reduction and immune system boost that results from a loving and caring social circle is undeniable.  Just google "Social Support and Health" if you don't believe me.

I've played today's Daily Mind Game before, and I am constantly reminded each time that I should probably spend more time interacting with people I care about.  However, if I were to just mindlessly go on with my day, always focusing on the next to-do item, I would probably forget to maintain the relationships I value.  By mindfully focusing on my connections with others, I am reminded to reach out to my closest family and friends.  And that just feels good.

Socializing

Task: Gauge your level of social interaction.

Info: Using today as a typical day, evaluate the total time you spend interacting with others.  What are these interactions like?  Positive or negative?  How much of your day involves interacting with people you really care about?  Look for ways to increase positive interactions with loved ones and to minimize or alleviate interactions that are chronically negative.  Again, the week is about Self-Awareness - you "win" the Daily Mind Game simply by observing your own behavior in an unbiased way.

Goal: Brainstorm three simple ways to increase the ratio of positive interactions to neutral/negative interactions during a typical day.

Good job, friend!  I know being self-aware can be challenging.  But, awareness is empowering and by consciously working our our awareness, we're developing critical metacognitive monitoring abilities that will help us during future challenges.