Bas Snippert
Bas Snippert, MSc is an expert in stress, vitality and development at work.
Introduction
Based on both science and philosophy, the way I define vitality is as follows:
The optimal self-regulation of energy directed toward health, growth, and generativity.
Generativity basically means “life forward,” at least according to a philosopher I’m very fond of—Eugene Gendlin. I see generativity as the core of true vitality, meaning that we generate more life.
So, how can we recognize whether we have vitality or not? In its absolute essence, vitality is experienced as aliveness. In fact, one of the scientific instruments used to measure vitality—based on work in Self-Determination Theory—starts by asking the extent to which you feel alive.
Vitality in the diplomatic world
What are the the top factors and myths about stressors faced by diplomats?
You'll probably be exposed to a lot of uncertainty.
There’s so much uncertainty in the world. No one knows exactly where everything is going. Especially in some very important areas of world politics, things are completely chaotic. Depending on the level of diplomacy or politics you're involved in, you’ll be dealing with a degree of complexity that’s unprecedented in history—not only due to the sheer amount of information one has to process, but also because of the very complex challenges we’re facing in the environment, the economy, and many other fields related to your work. Other very specific stressors include having to be available internationally at all times, even across time zones. The public places a huge responsibility and very high expectations on politicians and diplomats nowadays, even though they probably don’t fully understand what it takes to be in that kind of position. Moving across time zones can be detrimental to your biorhythms and to maintaining a normal lifestyle. Depending on the places you go, you may even face security threats, which is clearly stressful. People in these kinds of environments can also make you vulnerable to criticism or even manipulation—again, adding to the stress one has to deal with. Even though I just named a lot of stressors, I think one of the most common misunderstandings is that these events themselves cause stress. In reality, based on how our body, mind, and brain function, it’s not necessarily the external event that produces stress—but how your body, brain, and mind respond to it. That’s where a lot of variation comes in: between different people, and even within yourself on different days.
What role does community play in stress and vitality?
For the type of work that you are involved in—politics, diplomacy—a community where we can playfully begin to adapt to challenging situations is the best way to build resilience. And the beauty of community is that it works both ways: through practicing together and helping others, we are also being generative, which—if you remember—is the key to vitality.
There are also more general ways in which community supports both stress resilience and the building of vitality. Connection in itself is very important to us as humans. Feeling safe with others, having people we can confide in—especially in this type of work, where you may need to share very confidential or difficult experiences that others outside this field may not understand or may not even be allowed to know—these are essential to well-being.
What should organizations employing a global public workforce learn about vitality?
That vitality is multidimensional—just like we are. Focusing on only one domain is not enough. At the Dutch Center for Vitality, we have developed the 7 Pillars of Vitality: energy, body, mind, emotion, identity, interaction, and time.
If organizations want to truly address vitality—as well as resilience, well-being, and other aspects of mental health—it’s best to approach it in an integrative way. We also need to find ways to make this part of the primary process, i.e., business as usual. It’s not enough to attend a webinar every few months. We need to make self-regulation a priority—if we truly value humans as resources, rather than treating them like machines or data points in a spreadsheet.
Advice
Pragmatically speaking, the best stress management and recovery strategy is the one you’re actually going to do. I know there are a gazillion life hacks, biohacks, science tips, ancient techniques, and so on floating around the internet. But as with any skill, the basics are everything.
I’ll give some of the basics for each pillar. Choose one or two to focus on for a few weeks before adding more. Again, consistency is key!
1. Energy
Integrate some form of regular check-in into your routine. You can check out the Energy Curve from my book in Figure 1. Ask yourself the 4W’s: Where am I on my energy curve right now? Why am I there? What do I need—and from whom—to get back to my green zone?
2. Body
Prioritize in this order: sleep > diet > exercise > rest > breathing.
Try to maintain a consistent sleep schedule—or, when traveling, make sure you get morning light to reset your circadian rhythm (follow Andrew Huberman for more specific tips).
Eat whole foods with lots of fiber and protein.
Move throughout the day—sitting is the new smoking!—and try to lift weights a few times a week.
Take microbreaks. If you want to practice some breathing, simply breathe out longer (e.g., make a long “Wuu” sound, with the “u” like in “you”).
3. Mind
Regularly reset your mental energy and attention by practicing the following steps:
Stop. Step back. Feel your back. Wait for a spontaneous breath.
Drop your attention into your body by scanning from head to back, to butt, to legs, to feet—essentially along the backside of your body. Additionally, support yourself by cognitively structuring your next steps using: “What is happening? So what does that mean for me / my role / my goal? Now what will I do next?”
4. Emotion
Practice generating positive emotions regularly using the REAL acronym:
Recognize, Experience, Absorb, Link.
Recognize when good things are happening, even small pleasures like a morning breeze, birdsong, fresh coffee, a smiling cashier, or finishing a document. Experience the pleasure it gives you by noticing how it registers in your body: a smile? Relaxation? Warmth? Absorb the experience by noticing its effect on your overall state: more happy? Peaceful? Excited? Link it to your next work activity or challenge, noticing how the positive experience helps you approach it from a more expanded state.
5. Identity
Practice your internal locus of control (agency) by regularly asking:
What do I want to get from this situation? What do I need to do differently to achieve that? What’s scary about that for me? What am I assuming here? How can I reality-check my assumption?
This applies to anything—from a meeting to your workday, week, weekend, year, or even your lifetime.
6. Interaction
Clarify your role and responsibilities in interactions and work situations:
“What’s my role and responsibility here?”
This helps prevent taking on too much. Practice setting boundaries, which is a necessity in demanding environments. Ask yourself:
“If I say yes to this, what does that mean for me?”
Boost this pillar further by sharing appreciation and gratitude with others regularly.
7. Time
Reflect regularly on the big picture:
“What do I really want in my (work) life? And how are my day-to-day activities part of that?”
Practice radical prioritization using the 80/20 principle—20% of activities generate 80% of your output. Also, practice setting your own bar using the Definition of Done exercise:
“What is good enough for this activity / day / week / … ? When am I done?”
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