• Home
  • About Us
  • Consultancy & Training
  • Coaching
  • Counselling
  • Online Courses
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Manifesto
    • Login
Voxel Hub
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Consultancy & Training
  • Coaching
  • Counselling
  • Online Courses
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Manifesto
  • Login

Business & Leadership

  • Home
  • Blog
  • Business & Leadership
  • The power of human connection

The power of human connection

  • Posted by Sylwia Korsak
  • Categories Business & Leadership, Digital Communication, Digital Content, Digital Identity
  • Date June 28, 2020
  • Comments 0 comment

Now and again I plan to share my personal stories here, on Voxel Hub blog, if I feel that they serve as a good example of the positive impact of digital technologies.

Today I would like to mention the power of human connection facilitated by the Internet. A few weeks ago I have finally started morning running. Fitness and general wellbeing have been a challenge for me and now, that I am preparing to start the advance diploma in counselling, I have dedicated the entire 2020 to physical health. I have worked in early spring and summer on my diet and slowly, gradually moved towards a more active lifestyle. I have lived over 40 years relatively healthy with a strong body and occasional dips or increased in body weight. I have never jogged or did any other sports. I move a lot – I walk, I garden, I have a Springer Spaniel. Up until this June, I hated running.

With my core intention this year to get better at sports and build them into my daily self-care practice (an incredibly important area for a coach and counsellor), I have tried everything. I started tracking my activity levels on my Apple Watch and Strava app. I read many books about the psychology of movement. Kelly McGonigal’s “Joy of Movement” came out just in time for me. I used CBT practices for diet and activity levels. I recruited friends to be my fitness bodies and since the lockdown introduced weekly checking with them. Still, I could not get my feet out of the house for a run.

Losing a close friend to domestic abuse and watching the Colston’s statue fall in Bristol changed something in me. I became very aware of my own freedoms and privileges, but also angry about the continuous inequalities. From one day to another I started running. I posted about it and about my anger. I made a promise to myself to run every day until I die. I am sharing this because it is important for my weekend story.

The second week of my running was harder. Once you move beyond learning to run safely (yes, we do have to learn this stuff), my mind started playing tricks on me. My body started feeling the pain of the new running, yoga and cycling rituals. I suffered. And so I decided to use the most powerful tool that always works for me – looking for role models. I opened up my Amazon Prime video dashboard and typed in “running”.

The first movie that came up was the story of Fiona Oakes, “Running for Good“. It made me cry all throughout – in happiness, in awe, in amazement….and possibly also in relevance. There is nothing in Fiona’s journey that would not grab a viewers attention – she is kind, humble, hard-working, dedicated to her vegan lifestyle and to saving animals, while also determined to use running and her multiple titles to raise awareness too. I was personally touched by the level of challenges she had to but also chose to face. I was moved by her awareness of being a woman in a sport which only recently invited us to participate. She is also very aware of the costs of corporate sponsorships and media coverage.

Everything about Fiona inspires me to run but also to continue with my own cause – to remind people that when using digital technologies we do have a choice and we can be well, better off. We just need to make informed choices, practice our freedom to access to information and hold powers at play more and more accountable.

I watched the documentary. I learned a lot about the power of running and powerful women too. But this is not the end of my journey with Fiona’s story. I then went online to find out more about her Sanctuary. The well set up fundraising options led me to an Amazon wish list so I purchased few small items for her animals (really not much at this stage, I hope to help more in the future). With a few clicks, I could make a small difference.

Then I went to find her on Instagram and say thank you. I left a comment. As it happened, my new shoes arrived so I regretted buying them somewhat knowing that the purchase of Fiona’s brand supports her work. However, I decided to make that my next milestone reward and posted a shoeselfie with a note about Fiona and her important work. My note on recent illness prompted a lovely comment from Fiona, which made me smile.

Today I feel a bit better. I cycled 15 km, went for my run and did my yoga session. I am in pain, but I know it’s OK, it’s part of the deal. I am touched by her story and connected with her mission on so many levels that I have energy and inspiration left for many more runs. And posts. And work with my clients to make a difference in their lives.

So when people tell me that the social media or web, in general, has a terrible impact on our wellbeing, I stop, raise my hand and start sharing my stories. Stories of people who use it as a platform to share their amazing lives, their achievements and their important voices. People who spread kindness and touch me – whether through direct comments or through the stories shared about them online. People who make me shed tears of joy.

People who reinforce my life philosophy: nothing is impossible.

People like Fiona.

I am so grateful for them and for the opportunity to live in the digital age which allows them a unique voice.

Let’s focus on them, let’s amplify their voices and made this age work for us all.

Tag:connection, films, Instagram, leadership, streaming

  • Share:
author avatar
Sylwia Korsak

Senior social media and digital wellbeing consultant, coach and counsellor. Founder of Voxel Hub.

Previous post

Unexpected sources of mindfulness
June 28, 2020

Next post

Online misinformation and mental health
June 28, 2020

You may also like

2022-03-18
Importance of self-care for therapists
18 March, 2022
202202 News Curation 9 (1920 × 1280 px)
Accessing news on social media channels
27 February, 2022
rhythm-goyal-_-Ofoh09q_o-unsplash
Do we need words to connect with stories?
18 September, 2021

Leave A Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Search

On this website

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Consultancy & Training
  • Coaching
  • Counselling
  • Online Courses
  • Blog
  • Resources
  • Manifesto

BLOG CALENDAR

August 2022
M T W T F S S
1234567
891011121314
15161718192021
22232425262728
293031  
« Jul    

Key blog categories

  • Business & Leadership
  • Coaching
  • Consultancy
  • Contributor Post
  • Counselling
  • Digital Communication
  • Digital Content
  • Digital Creativity
  • Digital Identity
  • Digital Literacy
  • Digital Tech & Innovation
  • Digital Wellbeing
  • Events
  • Family
  • Founder's thoughts
  • Mental Health & Wellbeing
  • Newsletter
  • Our Advisory Board
  • Our Events
  • Our Interviews
  • Our News
  • Our Services
  • Our Tips
  • Personal Development

Other blog topics

activism Advisory Board algorithms books breathing Bristol care coaching collective connection counselling creatives digital detox digital literacy digital wellbeing diversity events grief health innovation Instagram interview leadership liberation mental health mindfulness nature newsletter pandemic ProReal PTSD remote work resilience rest self-care selfcare stories tips trauma Vicarious trauma VR webinars wellbeing women workplace

BLOG ARCHIVES

Digital Wellbeing Primer (coming soon)

Digital Wellbeing Primer (coming soon)

Free
Exploring FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) (Coming Soon)

Exploring FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) (Coming Soon)

£39.00
Reflective Writing in the Digital Age (coming soon)

Reflective Writing in the Digital Age (coming soon)

£39.00

Recommended Links

Our collections
Digital Wellbeing Voices on Twitter
Digital Wellbeing book list on Amazon 
Digital wellbeing on digital platforms
Digital Wellbeing course by Google
Digital Wellbeing course by the University of York
Digital Wellbeing Google
Digital Wellbeing Android 
Digital Wellbeing Apple
Digital Wellbeing Facebook
Digital Wellbeing Vodaphone
Internet Matters by Virgin Media
Digital Literacy courses by BT
Research and news
Oxford Internet Institute 
BPS Cyberpsychology
Cyberpsychology EU
Cyberpsychology ORG News
Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking
Other related journals
Pew Research (Internet)
We Are Social blog 
Digital parenting
Digital Wellbeing Childnet
Digital Wellbeing UK Safer Internet Centre
Common Sense Media
Parenting for a Digital Future
EU Kids Online
Danah Boyd Blog
Contextual Safeguarding Network
UK wellbeing research
GOV.UK 5 Ways of Wellbeing Report 2008
NEF 5 Ways of Wellbeing Report 2008 
NEF 5 Ways of Wellbeing – New Evidence 2011
NEF Wellbeing blog
State of the Nation 2019
Happy City
Thriving Places Index
Happiness Pulse
Local wellbeing indicators 
Digital Wellbeing for Academia
Digital wellbeing blogs
Positive Computing
Mind Matters News
Tech Happy Life
Hero Wellbeing Blog
What Works Wellbeing
Positive psychology 
Positive Psychology Center
Network of Wellbeing
Positivity Test
VIA Institute

Copyright © Voxel Hub 2019-2022 // Privacy Policy // Cookie Policy

No apps configured. Please contact your administrator.

Login with your site account

No apps configured. Please contact your administrator.

Lost your password?

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish.

For our full Privacy Policy click here.

Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT