We are becoming increasingly mentally ill. The 2016 BKK Health Report states: "Despite declining sick leave in recent years, the relative proportion of mental illness in cases of incapacity to work is growing. It has climbed from two percent to 15.1 percent over the past 40 years. The number of sick days caused by mental illness has increased fivefold during this period."
Mental health issues are now the most common reason for early retirement. According to the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the cost of illness amounts to 16 billion euros per year. Those are the facts.
But why is that?
What has changed so dramatically in recent years that such a disastrous outcome has come about? In summary, there are three decisive changes. The extreme increase in speed, transparency, and complexity in our lives. Anyone who still wants to go along with the higher-faster-further craze will reach their limits sooner than they think. All of this takes its toll on us: on our nerves, on our relationships, on our health.
The interesting thing is that these changes primarily explain the emergence and development of mental overload. However, mental underload—and thus the experience of meaninglessness—is also on the rise. How does this fit together? Let's now change our perspective. What are the actual positive aspects of these changes? What can we learn from them and how can we perhaps even benefit from them?
Creator delusion – Victim delusion
Overwork and underwork can be responsibility as too much and too little responsibility . Those who constantly overwork themselves or allow themselves to be overworked suffer from an illusion of their own superiority and strength. A delusion of grandeur. And those who underwork themselves or allow themselves to be underworked for a long period of time suffer from an illusion of their own inferiority. A delusion of victimhood.
From my point of view, figuratively speaking, the question here is whether we are carrying too much or too little. So there is a middle ground of appropriate, sensible responsibility. That is what it is all about: recognizing this middle ground and living accordingly. This seems to be an art that not everyone can master.
In companies ...
... this will result in the need to distribute responsibility in the future: 50 percent lies in enabling the appropriate assumption of responsibility (companies and leader), the other 50 percent in the willingness to fulfill that responsibility (individuals).
So companies need to learn how responsibility with responsibility wisely and demand it—how to enable "healthy responsibility development." However, the topicresponsibilityhas not played a central role in leadership development to date.
... and for the individual
On the other hand, individuals must learn where they truly belong. Because only when we develop our talents into strengths will we be able to consistently deliver the top results that are demanded of us. But those who develop their strengths must also be aware of their weaknesses and seek solutions for them. This requires the help of others who have strengths where we have weaknesses. This is how teamwork develops. On the way there, we must consciously overcome another illusion: that of self-sufficiency.
We humans need each other. To learn from each other, to rub shoulders with each other, and to grow together. So that everyone can become the best they can be. May 2019 be your year of "wise handling of responsibility. responsibilityI wish you this from the bottom of my heart.
Yours, Boris Grundl
Looking for more inspiration?
Take a look at Facebook, Instagram, or the video blog "Grundl's Reasons." Here, Boris Grundl examines current topics from different perspectives. Always with the question: "What can I take away from this topic for myself and my life?" In the video "Ludwig van Beethoven," for example, he talks about the distinction between "surface vs. depth":
To this day, Ludwig van Beethoven's works are characterized by a certain profundity and gravity. This arises when we repeatedly reflect on themes. Only then do we learn and gain inspiration. This process is mentally very demanding. In contrast to this is the lightness of being – entertaining fashion trends that are not, however, permanent. In order to distinguish between the two states, Boris Grundl highlights the ubiquitous difference between substantial profundity and superficial lightness. The goal is to create balance in life. To be able to possess a feeling of lightness, but also to think through topics in their substance. Because only then will you become the best you can be.
Image source: ©caio_triana Pixabay
