The Locker Room

After the crowds empty the bleachers, and only silence remains, there is an mental echo of inclusion that once bonded kindred spirits. For some who have played team sports, their memories of their playing days have less to do with the actual games and more to do with their locker room camaraderie.  The memories remind players of a time when they once belonged. Times when they would walk into the facility after a practice with a feeling of total exhaustion. The coach provided the love/hate motivation that made the collective group feel satisfied for having fulfilled a work load that alone they would have never attempted. The locker room is an atmosphere that substantiates meaningful connections for all who have endured physical trials that at one time or another, brought everyone in that room to the edge; when quitting made more sense than persevering.   Despite the depth chart, peer respect remains, since having seen each other at their worst the fact prevails that everyone puts on the same jersey.  Coming out of the tunnel, you and your fellow teammates are one, because together you have experienced much. The locker room gave the athlete the community retreat to make sense of it all.  When the playing days end, the social support systems aren't so easily identified, and we all move on to achieve our existence instead of connecting with it.  In the back of our mind a fading hope lingers that the next achievement will create that meaning we want.  All the while, research supports that when life takes us beyond our sense of coherence, in actuality it's the anchors of community that gives us the motivation to carry on.  Are you losing ground in this area?

On the surface, one would assume that today we are more connected than ever due to the dramatic rise of technology and social networking. It isn't so. Communication transactions may be on the rise, but emotional and social intimacy is on the steep decline. The crowd may be growing all around you, but the feeling of being alone is all the more prevalent, like tear drops in the rain.

A validity of life is essential.  Yet, what many strive to find in achievement, in actuality we find with more frequency among the constellation of meaningful connections in our life (Kahn, 2007). While connection is skyrocketing, it is the meaningful piece that evades us.  Sherry Turkle, discusses this phenomenon in her latest TED talk titled Connected, But Alone? See below.  In the presentation, Sherry discusses how our smart phones and online persona's are redefining human connections to a fault. "As we expect more from technology, do we expect less from each other?" Sherry also asks us to "think deeply about the new kinds of connection we want to have."

Whether it be a family, a social club, an intimate relationship, support group, work based, or a church; The metaphorical locker room is a place that we all still need in order to experience our authentic selves.  This is a place where genuine humanity is appreciated far above transactional exploits. Even more, it's a place where followers, stats, and tags will never replace the inherent need for human intimacy.  In the fast pace of life, risk being engaged in community, because you will always need a place where the true you can be at ease and transparent.  In doing so, to your relief you will discover that no one has it "all together" and that your hard times are similarly shared by others all around you.  What you feel isn't unique to you. You aren't alone.

Win Today!

Victor