Modern Body Xperiment

The Art of Present Engagement and Meaningful Friendships

• Dan and Jenni • Season 1 • Episode 6

Share episode

Ever found yourself in the cozy comfort of your PJs, binging your favorite show, yet feeling an inexplicable void? That's the social wellness gap talking, and we're here to walk you through bridging it. As your guides, Dan and Jenni, we share heartfelt stories and actionable strategies to enhance your relationships and sense of community in the latest episode of the Wheel of Wellness podcast. Discover the transformative power of human connection, as we reveal how even introverts like Jenny can find joy in nurturing meaningful interactions without compromising their love for quiet nights in.

Tune in and uncover the secret to balancing technology with genuine human connection, where we champion quality over quantity in friendships. Whether you're sipping coffee with a close friend or sending a quick catch-up text, we discuss the art of being fully present and the benefits of active listening. Our conversation promises to leave you equipped with practical tips to enrich your social well-being, ensuring that your next social encounter is more than just another item on your to-do list. Join us on the Wheel of Wellness podcast and spin your way to a more socially fulfilled life.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Will of Wellness podcast where we embark on a transformative journey through the intricate facets of health and well-being.

Speaker 2:

Join us as we explore the interconnected spokes of the wellness wheel, delving into physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual and environmental health.

Speaker 1:

Our experiences and insightful discussions will help empower you to achieve balance and harmony in your life, guiding you towards a healthier, happier you.

Speaker 2:

Get ready to spin the wheel and uncover the secrets of a fulfilling and well-rounded life.

Speaker 1:

Hey guys, welcome to another episode of the Wheel of Wellness podcast. I'm your host, dan, and I'm your co-host, jenny. Today we're delving into a topic that's crucial for a balanced and fulfilling life social wellness. But before we get into that, you know we've had a little bit of a break. We've had the holidays going on. A lot of sickness. Yeah, we've been sick. Um, what's? Just standard stuff, nothing extreme, but uh, just we figure that we owe you guys that we're going to try and get on a good schedule here and we're going to be recording and trying to get ahead of the game so we'll be able to give you guys good content.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So as of today, you know we're going to go over this social wellness. We're going to start back doing that. This book of the wheel refers to the quality and strength of your relationships, connections, interactions with others. It's about fostering healthy relationships and maintaining a supportive social network and also feeling a sense of belonging. So social wellness.

Speaker 1:

humans are inherently social beings. You can be an introvert, you can be an extrovert, but everybody is connected and meaningful connections contribute to our overall well being. By providing us social support, it reduces our stress. It enhances our sense of purpose. Strong social ties have even been linked to better physical health.

Speaker 2:

And in today's fast paced world, we can prioritize social wellness by making time for genuine connections In schedule, regular moments for social interactions, whether it's a phone call, a coffee date or a simple chat with a friend. Quality often surpasses quantity when it comes to the social connection.

Speaker 1:

That is so true. I have a certain group of friends and it's not a really big group of friends, but the friends I have when I do talk to them, it means so much to me and we do have quality time. It doesn't have to be for hours and hours. I have a good friend in Kentucky. I have a good friend that I have from church, but it can be like, hey, what's going on, can we talk? And then we talk for 10, 15 minutes and things are just awesome.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I'm a little, I guess, introvert. I'm kind of the one that wants to come home, jump in the PJs, watch the TV after a long, hard day at work. But sometimes I've got to really refocus my priorities, because I do have good friends, but I don't always. I'm very bad at keeping up with them and making sure they're good and thinking about those things. They get so wrapped up in the day.

Speaker 1:

It's easy to do, especially nowadays. So I mean, with that being said, with how you are, with getting wrapped up into your job, getting wrapped up into things. Can you think of some tips that we can have for people that struggle to maintain social wellness in this age of technology? To where we have computers, we have tablets, we have smartphones, we have smart watches, what can we think about in social wellness when technology?

Speaker 2:

yeah, well, I think, uh, so, uh, technology is kind of taking a toll on us. So, while technology technology can connect us, it's crucial to balance the online and offline interactions. So practicing um active listening, you know, limit your screen time and be present in the moment during a face-to-face interaction. Quality connections require genuine engagement that is so true.

Speaker 1:

I mean, we've all been there.

Speaker 2:

I know that I've been there to where I've been actually talking with somebody, face-to-face with somebody, and you know, I'll get a notification on my phone, I'll get a notification on my watch and I'll look at it and I'm like, oh my goodness, I just totally devalued this person in the interaction that we're having right now yeah, I mean, I even have instances where, oh, it's so easy to just text somebody or, you know, send them something on facebook just to check in, but then you run into situations you do that so much that you kind of tend to lose your ability to hold just a normal conversation with people, because the other day I was at the doctor's office and somebody came in that I haven't seen in a while and started talking and it's just like I felt awkward so I mean, yeah, I mean you can get to the point where if you don't pay the correct attention to social wellness, that that exchanging that meme or that that's silly little text, you think that's, that's your normal and that's what's supposed to be, and when you actually put in the situation you're like, hold on, I know, I know what I'm supposed to do here yeah, you got to really dig deep back to the days before all this technology and I remember, like even with the, when the iphone first came out, you remember that, oh, it was, and how and how.

Speaker 2:

I was so not into that, like I'm like no, what do I need this for? It's too complicated.

Speaker 1:

I have my flip phone, leave me alone I know I, when I saw it come out, I'm like oh my goodness, I gotta have that you remember that I'm like this is really the coolest thing ever. I'm gonna be able to get sports scores. I'm gonna be able to do this. I'm gonna be able to do that.

Speaker 2:

You're like it's a phone, yes it took me a minute and I, you know, I followed your lead when you decided you wanted to do it and get them. And now I don't know if I could live without it well with the way things are.

Speaker 1:

On a personal basis, it's, it's very easy to go ahead and lean on that, but also with work, that is that's my life.

Speaker 2:

Yes, it is yeah, the communication with my job. You know I'm responsible for hundreds of people, so it's easier to communicate over text or group me things like that with with the employees.

Speaker 1:

Otherwise that's a lot of phone calls well that's also, you know, that is business interactions and that is business transactions. Now, is that playing into with, with it being a transactional situation? Does it benefit your social wellness?

Speaker 2:

I? You know, I don't think so. I think, yes, you can be politically correct and you can try to say the right things through a text or phone, you know, group me or whatever, but I really think you have to have that face-to-face with the people that you're speaking to. You know, I have several restaurants and stuff that I have to visit. I can't quite, like you know, see everybody within that month. It takes me some time, especially with other things going on, so to eventually get there and say, hey, how are you doing? I think that's really important.

Speaker 1:

So tell me this I mean you spend. I have a limited group of people I deal with in work. Just because of the nature of my work, you are very outsourced and you have tendrils and everything. So, with that being said, what have you learned and what kind of tips and tricks can you give people that would be able to have a workplace that promotes social wellness?

Speaker 2:

Well, I think it starts with encouraging a positive work culture that values collaboration and teamwork. I think that is so important. You have to be able to rely on each other and build a family culture, provide opportunities for the team building activities. That really helps.

Speaker 1:

Mentorship programs taking someone under your wing to make them you know, to develop them to be a better, maybe a better employee or to move up in the ladder right, and that would be a very personal thing, because a mentor that means somebody in your business that you guys have a lot of faith in them and you have a lot of promise. They have a lot of promise in the future, so that you can have them in that one-on-one personal relationship with somebody to bring them along to help grow your business.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely, and it's crucial to move businesses forward with good people. You also want to create spaces where employees can connect beyond work tasks. A supportive workplace enhances the social well-being I know you your business.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes you like go do top golf with your people.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, we do. You know, obviously you can't do it every day, right, but those are things that we do often and I think that it's important because it not only I mean, you know them at work, right, but you need to get to know them on a personal level, to a certain extent outside of there, if you're going to build that culture.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I totally get that. You know somebody at work and you know what they are going to be doing in. Like I said, that transactional business relationship that you have, but you don't know that guy or that gal that when you're in a social situation they're going to wear that goofy looking hat and have that stupid little laugh. That's just so endearing to you and they actually get your personality across to you and that goes ahead and that enhances your social wellness because it does build that bond with that person.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, and you know we just did so. I had an incident well, it's not really an incident, it's experience really where the company likes to do 80% in-house, you know development and you know moving up the ladder promotions and then the other 20% is like an outside. They think that having somebody else's perspective on things is a good thing, which I agree, but for me, you know, I just had to promote two people and I was strongly against going outside because I think it sends the wrong message.

Speaker 1:

Now you said you just had to, but did you? I would put it in the sense that you had the opportunity to promote two people.

Speaker 2:

Oh, yeah, and it was great because then you know the people behind them to take their spot had the opportunity to also be promoting. So to me that sends an awesome message to everyone that hey, you work hard, you get noticed and you were valued very valued.

Speaker 1:

Yes, and that is part of social wellness. So I can see how that in the workplace is very important. Obviously, with you, you're there, it's a business, but, with that being said, you also deal with people and people and relationships, and social wellness is very important. Now you know, as you reach up, if you can think of one, let's say, actionable step that we can all take to enhance our social wellness, starting today, what would you think it would be?

Speaker 2:

I would say reach out to someone you care about. It could be a friend, a family member, a colleague. Nurture that connection by expressing gratitude or simply catching up with them. Small gestures can have a significant impact on your social well being, you know is it not something they say that you're taught as a child?

Speaker 1:

If you want to have a friend, be a friend, yes. So if you want to have somebody in your life that's going to care about you, that you're going to be able to connect with somebody that has some like like-minded views, somebody that you're interested in, you need to reach out to them, go ahead and embrace that relationship with them, have a healthy communication with them, and then go ahead and make sure you do that on a quality basis, not necessarily every day, to where it becomes something that's not.

Speaker 2:

Meaningful, and I think social well being is gonna only become more and more important as we grow with the technology piece right. I remember and I know you do too we used to play with our friends outside. We drink from water, hoses would be running around in the woods and you know, just building that connection with people, you had a best friend and you were all hanging out. And now it's like let's stay home and play video games and the heck with going outside and having some fun.

Speaker 1:

Mm-hmm, I can tell you right now, I had a good friend, philip Guadalupe. He, as a young boy, seven years old, he loved ABBA. Okay, it wasn't just that we were making Forts and doing stuff. You know, robert Costanza, he absolutely loved. He absolutely loved camping. You know these things where we built relationships, and I really want to thank you for that piece of advice as far as enduring yourself and actually building relationships with people. I think that's wonderful advice. It's very important. Well, I want to thank everybody that's listening to us, that's actually come back to us after this little hiatus that we had.

Speaker 2:

I just want to do a little shout out. So Vince, who is a colleague of mine and also a friend him and his wife he actually told me today like hey, where are you guys when you guys gonna do another podcast? Because I kind of listened to him on I'm waiting and it's been a while. I just thought it was for the holidays and I was like, you know, we've been really sick and have some issues, but I think we, you know, with him saying that it gave me some encouragement and also I Think that makes us feel appreciated and more into this right. So we want to Definitely make sure that we get our episodes out there on a regular basis.

Speaker 1:

That's. That's amazing, and I'm very humbled by that.

Speaker 2:

And I just had an epiphany. We're talking about social wellness and connections with people. We're getting wrapped up in the day and not really doing what we need to do to, you know, to get that social connection there. I'm sorry folks. We did that the last I don't know month with you guys, so won't happen again.

Speaker 1:

We're gonna make a we're gonna make a better effort at that. Okay, and just the same thing. Okay, also, where we said that the communication should be quality and not quantity, we're gonna make sure that we make bring stuff to you on a regular basis. That's gonna be quality stuff. We're not just gonna be putting out stuff to put out stuff.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so Check out our website wwwWheelOfWelenessPodcastcom. He does not much better than me. So, anyway, check out our website and, you know, subscribe and click like and communicate with us.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, on the website there's a place where you can chat with us, where we get emails from people and we can go ahead and respond If you got anything that you really want to hear about, if you want to hear, if you don't want to hear me saying, with that being said, so much you let me know that as well.

Speaker 2:

Please tell him that.

Speaker 1:

So please communicate with us and, until next time, take care of yourself and those around you wwwWheelOfWelenessPodcastcom.