'In Real Life' is an expression that has taken on new meanings since the pandemic started (I know, FIVE years ago!). IRL has become synonymous for what we used to take for granted most of the time - that we lived our lives in physical proximity to other people, from family, friends, colleagues, neighbours and acquaintances to total strangers passed casually by.
As a species we evolved in tribes and villages, using that strength in diversity, numbers and shared responsibility to keep ourselves safe, to prioritise success of the group through each individual. Safety is something our brains are wired towards preserving - that voice in your head making you question change is the result of millenia of passing down the wisdom of safety.
There are those who regarded living in a virtual world as a very positive step in their lives. I had a neighbour who had never been happier, a cousin who was delighted and many, many people appreciated the flexibility it gave them to arrange their work and families around their lives. Personally, while the work flexibility was welcome and used to full extent, I craved a return to human contact.
Twixmas this year is feeling a bit like that to me now. I took time off before Christmas to visit my family who live quite a way away. My parents are, well, 24 years older than me and I need to take every opportunity. Christmas was a quiet affair at home with so much domestic stuff, from refurnishing rooms and (almost) finishing curtains to making pastry so I'm needing a change!
My guiding word for the last few months has been Connection, to help with cancer recovery, return to work, travelling and meeting up with people again. It's been so good to get back into 'real life'.
What the retreat from work and bustle has done though, is give me another 'real life' insight. Time to take a step back to think, time to appreciate loved ones, time to visit places and people. As a result, I'm keeping Connection as a guiding word and adding 'Expectation'. As someone said, you'll never exceed your own expectations. This is a notion I want to explore for myself and help my coaching clients explore this year, turning that safety voice in our heads towards creating and embracing opportunity.
I'm wanting to get stuck in to planning what that looks like now! Looking forward to creating my own tribe and establishing a village of peopled with possibility.