Good teamwork isn't just essential to personal and organisational success, it's key to our health and happiness.
It doesn't matter how introverted one might be, throughout the whole of human history we have needed social connections in order to survive and thrive.
Even famous monks that choose to isolate themselves from the world for years to live in caves and meditate still only find meaning in their insights when they share them with others.
Many of us will nod our heads at this sentiment as it makes logical sense, but what really made the significance of this point hit home with me recently was learning about the neurochemical impact working on a problem with others has.
In the book 'The Art Of Impossible' 10 x best selling author Steven Kotler highlights that when humans approach a problem as a team they release multiple different feel-good neurochemicals such as endorphins and serotonin.
When working in social groups humans actually get excited about problems and the prospect of solving them.
On the contrary, by and large, when humans are faced with challenges on their own, the body releases stress-related neurochemicals.
When working solo humans get worried and stresses about problems and their potential inability to solve them or at least struggle with them.
Although this point might seem trivial, its significance shouldn't be understated.
If we want to be high achievers and create successful businesses and or teams, we need to regularly approach problems with the support of others.
If we want to enjoy good physical and mental health as well as avoid chronic stress and overwhelm, we need to regularly approach problems with the support of others.
Don't let the illusion of being in close proximity to many others fool you into believing you are doing this already.
I know many managers, leaders and business owners that allow a sense of pride or inaccurate understanding of leadership to lead to them feeling immensely alone regardless of the people they have around them.
I know many men that let a sense of pride and inaccurate understanding of what it means to be a man lead to them feeling immensely alone regardless of the family and friends they have around them.
I know many people who due to a sense of not wanting to bother or put other people out approach all of their problems alone regardless of the kind and supportive people they have around them.
Life isn't about solving problems on our own, life is about finding your people and working together to make the world a better place.
AUTHOR
Mike Jones Better Happy Founder
Mike founded Better Happy in 2018.
He now works with a variety of businesses ranging from small accountancies up to large organisations such as Travelodge on improving employee happiness. Mike's vision and the vision of Better Happy is 'Every employee happy, every business thriving'
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