I listened to this TED talk yesterday by Johann Hari where he talks about the major causes of depression and anxiety. From his research, the three things that affect people the most, inducing a sense of depression are:
- Community - people who don't have anyone they feel close to are prone to depression
- Agency - people who feel like they don't have any influence over their work and can only do what they are told are prone to depression
- Nature - people who don't venture out into the nature / natural environments often are prone to depression
While he only mentions ons side of these three elements, the other side has equally interesting and extreme effects.
From my own experience, having a sense of Community, Agency and frequent forays into the nature have correlated with high performance. When I don't have one or more of these elements going for me at any time, my performance drops (sometimes drastically) and when they're all there, it shoots up (again sometimes drastically).
I hadn't consciously thought of designing my life to ensure adequate positive influence of these three elements. But this talk and the subsequent thoughts it provoked in me makes me want to do so.
I'll give it a shot when I plan my weeks ahead.
CONVERSATION