Yeh. I feel you.
Have you ever walked into a meeting positive and clear and without warning, felt like you hit a wall of something that was the paradox of your projection? As if the barometric pressure changed in the confines of the newly arranged characters in the scene? In-person meetings notwithstanding, this can and does occur in Zoom rooms and remote meetings just as often. What is it that shifts the mood in a “room” like that?
Simply put, it’s the literal vibe of the sum of those in presence. And, much like entrainment of a tuning fork to another a full 20 feet or more away, the energy or actual vibratory waves find a common level and affect one another. Yes, there is an unseen force in nearly every situation where more than one energetic being is present (whether in person or otherwise) that finds the vibratory mean, which is often weighted by the exceptionally high or low end.
“Damn, I was feeling so optimistic. What happened to change that when I walked into that room is a mystery to me!”
When sympathetic resonance occurs, it is not a case of picking up another’s energy and projecting it as a mirrored vibration. The energy becomes a part of you - as part of that gathering. So it isn’t just mirroring, it is an actual shift in the energetic transaction in the room. One layer of this is experienced as empathy. A relative experience, of “I can feel for you” or I can relate to what you are going through is taken to a new level of “I am actually experiencing this as you are”. You are actually becoming the energy that the other “person” has. It’s common to exchange energy in this manner, but as is witnessed in a common workplace setting, it’s imperative to set energetic boundaries to limit how often and its intensity.
I want to share first that empathy is an excellent social skill to tap. It is a way we find others with like minds and like behaviors. We find others like ourselves and we relate on a heart-centered basis. People will like you if you like them. You can blend into any environment. It’s also really great for learning. You know so much about the other person and how they are experiencing the world which helps you get to know them and learn about them. An invaluable sales tool for sure. Others will feel that level of mirroring from you and share deeply, which is sometimes a good thing and sometimes a complicated thing. You want to learn about them, but perhaps not everything about them. Certainly not in a workplace environment.
Matching another’s mood is a surprising aspect of resonance. Sometimes the matching is unconscious but setting boundaries so as not to match another is imperative in situations where you come across someone who wants to argue, spar verbally, or is just in a fog of negativity. It is a choice of accountability. Accountability to staying “in your own lane” or “space” and being present in the room, but not being a sponge for the energy being shared by others.
Utilizing grounding techniques and visualization to reinforce and protect your own energetic resonance is integral to the awareness of others’ and to maintaining your own mood while being fully capable of recognizing another’s energy, feelings, and state-of-mind in a kind and compassionate way. This enhances workplace happiness in an unseen but unquestionably REAL way. Inspired Action at Work evaluates, assesses and works directly with companies to evoke cultural change towards workplace ecstasy. Our goal? Happy employees, Happy workplaces, Ecstatic Stakeholders. Greater ROI. As simple as a meeting room vibe? "Yeh. I feel you." It’s a definite starting point. Drop us a note to learn more.
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