Sometimes I completely understand what my clients say e.g. I’m leading an intergovernmental, multi-stakeholder funding initiative on NCDs. And sometimes less so e.g.: We just raised £2 billion in our IPO to fund our VC.
The difference? My knowledge.
Each sentence references hyperobjects like the global economy and health. One I know well because of my career, the other less so.
But what are hyperobjects and what do they have to do with feeling overwhelmed?
Hyperobjects are a new concept describing entities or processes that are vastly distributed in time and space, making them difficult to fully comprehend or control.
Every day, we’re faced with hyperobjects like climate change, the internet, or war.
Every day our mind-bodies are faced with 3 things:
Hyperobjects (vast processes over time and space) e.g. climate change,
Hyperstimuli (exaggerated versions of natural stimuli) e.g. junk food, social media
Hyper-roles (traditional social roles that have become more complex and demanding due to an overload of information and decision-making complexity) e.g. parent, leader, doctor.
While you can find extensive information on the first two concepts and their impact on your attention span and well-being, the third concept – hyper-roles – is my contribution to explaining the increasing complexity experienced in our professional and personal lives, based on my experiences and research.
For example, a parent in a hyper-role would not only be responsible for traditional parenting tasks, but also for navigating complex educational systems, managing digital privacy and safety concerns, and keeping up with rapidly evolving research on child development.
Similarly, a doctor in a hyper-role might have to handle not only medical diagnoses and treatments but also navigate complicated insurance policies, electronic health records, and constantly updating research on new medications and procedures.
An organisational leader hyper-role embodies an individual who is not only responsible for traditional leadership tasks such as setting strategic direction, managing resources, and overseeing operations, but also for navigating an increasingly complex and interconnected business landscape, managing information, driving digital transformation, creating inclusive workplaces, ensuring sustainable business practices, and engaging with diverse stakeholders in a polarised world.
High achievers and changemakers are in hyper-roles. Chances are you are too.
Liberation comes from reclaiming your self-concept/identity from a hyper-role to something grounded in reality.
So what can you do?
Well, perhaps you’ve been told that you can have it all if you use your time effectively, think positively and work hard! And you’ve wondered why this rings hollow.
Here are some alternative tips:
Be in reality: your moment-to-moment experience is constructed from sensory input and beliefs. That’s it. And that’s why learning can change us. The most powerful tool I know is insight meditation (breathing and noting) which is the basis of modern mindfulness but goes much deeper.
Challenge success stereotypes: Stop drinking the Kool-Aid that success means more money, more status, more of everything while your health and mind slowly disintegrate.
Meet yourself again: what do you really want beyond respect, validation, or money?
Fear-setting: If you started decluttering your life and saying ‘no’ to things you no longer want today, what’s the worst that can happen? (Fear setting, i.e., writing down your fears and mitigating them, is a powerful exercise.)
Filter information: Turn the volume down on your social media, news, meetings, or anything tracking unnecessary information and start focusing on the here and now. What’s important today?
Get back in your body: Do something with your hands - garden, write with a pen, play with your kids or nephews… Mindful movement to calm and balance your nervous system. Music and nature to please your senses and quiet your thinking.
Reduce responsibility load: Break down your role into subroles, choose 1 or 2 and automate, outsource, delegate or relegate the rest. The most successful are focused and have opportunities come to them. They don’t create busyness.
Collaborate and delegate: A hyper-role cannot be fulfilled by one human. It requires community and collaboration. Find, ask and receive help. Even better, let tasks be naturally distributed by resisting the temptation to fill voids. Stop giving the impression that you can pick up tasks when you don’t.
Are you in a hyper-role? What can you do right now to declutter your life, put a stop to the complexity overload and come back to the present?
Declutter, declutter, declutter.
Learning from ancient wisdom and modern science, the liberating idea isn’t to have it all but to remember that: you don’t need to have it all to be happy. Happiness is a practice, and you can be happy now.
Have a great week,
Amina
