During an interesting conversation, two colleagues were sharing how they are dealing with the loss of energy they are currently experiencing. One of both shared how he was missing his habit to have lunch with colleagues and partners. To which the other person reacted questioning the situation. He made his point by suggesting that one could still go out and have a walk with one another.

Habits are comfortable.

They are known solutions for problems we experience.

The need to network and establish a relationship? In the culture I live in, going out, and having lunch together is the way we frequently do this.

Lunch having the nice aspect that it also provides distractions and a subject to talk about when the conversation may slow down. It’s one of the many details that make it difficult to imagine a different approach.

But there is our emotional bank account as one of my colleagues called it.

It is the place we use to deposit all the little details that help us feel energized. They are these fundamental drivers that push us into action. It can be stimuli we appreciate and need. It can be to reconnect with structure and thus a sense of control. Or It can be any appreciation we receive or give ourselves.

That’s also what habits are for, that’s how we’ve developed them. They serve our needs. Often positively, sometimes in a negative way.

In times like these, we tend to take more out of our emotional bank account, than we are putting in. But putting something onto the account is not always easy. It is particularly difficult when we are so used to our habits that we forget that they served our needs. And even more so, when we don’t think about our needs.

But it is also normal that it takes time to recognize what needs we were feeding and how. The key is, that it doesn’t happen by itself. We need to start that process ourselves.

The only way to start it is to stop waiting for this situation we are in to be over.

Go out and have a walk.