Love the Outdoors? Enjoying Nature Indoors Delivers Bio-Inspired Benefits Too!
Image credits: Katya Ross via Unsplash
Every October, the World Health Organization marks a day for us to pause to reflect on the importance of good mental health, not only for us as individuals and leaders, but for our organizations.
The Importance of Leaders Supporting Good Mental Health
Image credits: Tim Goedhart via Unsplash
Even before the pandemic, a range of studies pointed to compelling reasons to prioritize, and invest in, the mental health of our team members. Such investments helped mitigate some of the effects of suboptimal mental health and wellbeing, such as poor retention, absenteeism (and its ugly sister, presenteeism), burnout, decreased productivity, dysfunctional teams, and a toxic workplace culture.
💡 More important were the positive effects uncovered in these studies: supporting good mental health has been repeatedly associated with higher levels of job satisfaction, employee engagement, ability to attract talent, creativity, innovation, collaboration.
A 2019 Deloitte study of 10 Canadian companies even reported large ROIs for workplace mental health programs—although these returns could take a few years to materialize.
Leaders as a Catalyst for Positive Change
As leaders, we also know the importance of supporting our own mental health—and how incredibly difficult that can be! That’s only one step in the transformational journey of a leader seeking exponential impact, but it’s a super important one. Why? To explain, let me share a quote from a hero of mine, Christiana Figueres. Back in 2010, it was her job, on behalf of the UN, to galvanize diplomacy around climate change. Needless to say, the task was … daunting.
Here’s what she says she learned from the experience: “ … if you do not control the complex landscape of a challenge (and you rarely do), the most powerful thing you can do is to change how you behave in that landscape, using yourself as a catalyst for overall change.”
The scientist in me adores this quote because she used the word “catalyze.”
💡 Do you remember what a catalyst is? It’s something that makes change happen—without itself being used up. I believe that today’s leaders need that “catalyst” mentality, to persist in innovation and impact but without burning out.
Good mental health is a critical part of that equation.
Bio-inspired Benefits of Spending Time in Nature
So what can you do today to give your mental health a boost? There are lots of great options (see links in the resources section below), but here’s something that I particularly love—because it underscores the importance of having a Bio-inspired mindset as a business leader.
💡 Here’s what I’d like you to try today: let Nature help you create a moment of joy. If you can get outside to be in the living world, do it! Being outdoors, under the sky, in the breeze, surrounded by green, has amazing effects on anxiety, stress, and more.
One study determined that 2 hours per week—that’s less than 20 minutes per day!—of immersion in nature delivered these benefits.
Bringing Nature Indoors Sparks Joy Too!
Can’t make it outdoors? Then bring Nature inside with you! This approach is great if you live in a city or face other challenges to interacting with the natural world.
A peek of the restroom at Newark International Airport.
Ingrid Fetell Lee, a designer who focuses on increasing joy in our lives, specifically points to the natural world as a joy-enabler. Go beyond the visual and harness your other senses to enjoy Nature indoors. And don’t forget the power of surprise!
I’ve experienced this myself in the past few months! I got a surprise on a recent stop in Newark Airport when I stepped into the restroom and found … well, you can see for yourself in the photo I’m sharing here.
And over the summer, I stumbled into an astonishing exhibition in the Bath Assembly Rooms, in England. I was expecting Jane Austen, but what I got was a Forest of Imagination—with chandeliers and parquet floors peeking through the forests and seas and birdsong from the local area. Friends, I wish you could have seen my face. I could not possibly have been more surprised—and delighted! I’m sharing some of the photos I took so you can get a glimpse of the joy that I felt!
In both cases, I felt a surge of joy, not only because I found myself surrounded by nature—which always lifts my heart—but because the encounters were so entirely unexpected. The best part was that the joy persisted, not only on that day, but in my memory. As I type these words, I’m directly experiencing that joy yet again.
How could you bring surprises like this into your home and your office? How can you harness the power of Nature and a Bio-inspired mindset to support good mental wellbeing? Today is the perfect chance to find out!
Additional Resources to Help Boost Your Mental Health:
As leaders, the stories you tell have a huge impact on the wellbeing of people around you. Read this Harvard Business Review article to learn more:
Here’s an article from The NY Times on Small Steps to Improve Your Mental Health in 2023 . Make sure to read until the end of this article, the final step ensures that these tips are no cookie cutter recommendations.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/26/well/mind/mental-health-advice-2023.html
An interesting research finding on ‘wellbeing locus of control’ and mental health, is shared in this World Economic Forum article:
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/05/mental-health-wellbeing-anxiety-treatment
Here’s one tip for each day of the month! Take a look at Mental Health America’s 31 Tips to Boost Your Mental Health
Dr. Tiffany Vora embarking on a boat ride at The Galapagos Islands. Dive into her insights for leaders, drawing inspiration from her journey and reflections on the iconic voyage of the HMS Beagle: Life Lessons for Leaders Inspired by the Voyage of the HMS Beagle