As I’ve mentioned numerous times, I’m a graduate and lead trainer for iPEC coaching, an international coach training and consciousness raising program. I’ve learned so much from iPEC. One of the more powerful concepts I utilize frequently is that of influencers. Influencers are those aspects of life that influence or affect our energy, motivation, and how we show up each day. Bruce D. Schneider, the founder of iPEC, identified six influencers that impact all of us. The six influencers are spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, environmental, and social. COVID has all six of those influencers heavily, and often negatively, in play.

The Story of COVID and The Six Little Influencers

The spiritual influencer is how we look at life and what’s most important to us. It’s our purpose in life, our values, and all that we hold dear. COVID has kicked up a lot of spiritual issues related to how we spend our days and how we want our lives to progress. The Great Resignation seems directly related to our spiritual influencer in that millions of Americans are saying, “I’m out of here” to their jobs. The best way to utilize the spiritual influencer is to get very aware of your values and then figure out how to incorporate those values into your daily life. When our spiritual influencer is negatively impacted, it affects every aspect of our happiness, joy, and zest for life.

The mental influencer is our ability to be focused, aware, and essentially clear headed. Again, COVID is often negatively influencing our mental capabilities. If you are looking at a screen for ten hours a day, not getting enough sleep, and not challenging your brain to learn and grow, this influencer is probably weighing you down. What can you do to change that?

The physical influencer is related to our bodies and how we feel physically. Most of us are sitting way too much and maybe not caring for ourselves physically in ways that would be more beneficial. I’ve added an hour long walk to my days and it’s made a huge difference in how I feel both physically and mentally. What’s one small thing you can do to influence your physical well-being?

Managing life's six influencers can improve your energy, motivation and overall wellbeing. #stress #selfimprovement #selfcare Click To Tweet

The emotional influencer has been dramatically affected for most of us due to COVID. The constant changes, the uncertainty, the loss, and the fear can all be emotionally taxing. If you haven’t been taking care of yourself emotionally, what can you do right now to change that? Our emotional well-being is every bit as important as our physical health.

The environmental influencer has been a big component for most of us as well. Maybe we changed our physical work environments and our home environment is challenging, more cramped, or maybe not conducive to a private and comfortable work space. Maybe you had to go back to an office in which the seating has changed, or you have to wear a mask and other protective gear. Look around your environment and ask yourself if there is anything you can do to improve it so that it isn’t negatively influencing your energy.

The social influencer has been a big one for me during these past two years. I used to see people outside of my family, both personally and professionally. That has been dramatically reduced, and I find I’m often lonely and missing the in-person social contact that I enjoy. I’m sick of being on Zoom, so I often don’t want to socialize that way. Thus, I have been more aware of, and more deliberate, in finding ways to connect with people socially.

Here’s the bottom line. These six influencers are powerful. When we are aware of them and manage them, they can positively influence all aspects of our lives. When we aren’t aware or we don’t manage them, they can very negatively influence us. So, ask yourself about these six influencers and then come up with a plan to utilize them to influence your life in the best ways possible, even during COVID.

Love,

Lisa Kaplin Psy. D. PCC