What thoughts go through your mind when you hear the word “coma”? Do you joke about it, or do you take it seriously? At difficult times in your life, do you find yourself asking the question why am I in this situation?

If the answer is YES, then you are ready to wake-up your truth, from living an illusion and being in a “technological coma” that is stripping you off your true identity, your freedom, happiness, and most importantly the time you have left in this world.

Truth is, for many of you, the word “coma” is associated with someone who has had some kind of accident or life-threatening illness that stops them from responding to any outside stimulus such as touch, voices, other sounds, or any sort of activity going on nearby. Some of you may even jokingly use the word “coma” to describe people who don’t pay attention, are sleeping deeply, or not fulfilling their true potential.

But the kind of “coma2 I am talking about has nothing to do with effects of a physical injury. It has to do with:

The psychological, behavioural, and habitual changes that are happening at a speed of light due to rapid social, technological, and economic advancements are forcing many of us to be glued and married to our phones, ipads, and countless applications designed to rob us off or priceless time and give us an instant dopamine fix.

Recall the last situation that you were in. Where you on a date, with a friend having dinner, in a social gathering, family event, or at an important meeting at work? Now, see if you can recall how many times did you or the people you were with checked and did some kind of activity on their phones?

Do you or did anyone you were with took the time to switch-off from technology and the associated applications that increase your cortisol levels thus inducing more stress and anxiety in your life?

Did you know that by not doing so, the message you are subconsciously sending to the other person when you constantly check your phone for facebook updates, what’s up messages and Instagram likes is that of “ I have something more important to do, I value something else, I don’t value your time, etc.” The bottom line is, the other person may come to their own conclusion that being with you is a total waste of time and you don’t truly value their time and them.

Perhaps you have a friend who on moments notice cancels that movie-date, exhibition you were looking forward to seeing, or simply catching with them over a coffee and decides to honour another engagement. If you do, then you may want to look deeper within you the reasons this person is still in your life.

Over time I have let go many people whose behaviours and values were different to mines and the kind of meaningful, trustworthy and loving relationship I love enjoying in my daily life.

The countless dopamine fix behaviours we have developed are not only destroying the social fabric of a healthy society, business success and the relationships we have built over a lifetime, but they are also fuelling the global problems that mankind is facing and is looking to solve.

Some to mention are the threat of terrorist attacks, extremism, extreme levels of poverty, unfair wealth distribution, the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases, supply of clean water, providing universal primary, secondary, and university education, managing cultural, generational and gender differences, dealing with high divorce rates and instilling the morals and ethics in the “millennials” that may save humanity from destroying itself.

In my multi-award winning book # Loneliness, I call this new phenomenon, the virus of the modern age. If not caught, stopped, and cleaned in the now, it will continue to spread globally at uncontrollable rates infecting everyone with behaviours, beliefs, and actions that may take mankind into an irreversible trajectory of self-destruction.

This new gold rush for dopamine fix is also affecting every family, every relationship, and every business across the world. Many business leaders and CEO’s that seek my help to address various personal, leadership and people problems felt that many of their workers are asleep.

Some event felt that the “millennials” are to blame because they are a generation of entitlement, narcissist, self-focused, and lazy people. Unless this problem is addressed and alleviated in the now, many people will lose their jobs, some businesses will stop to exist, and those who survive will deploy Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Perhaps now is the time to wake-up humanity from this coma that pushes us to seek friendship in social networks with people we never met, create and buy AI pets, sex, sales, police and soldier robots to satisfy our endless needs.

Recently I gave a TEDx talk titled “Technological Armageddon: A Wake-Up Call” based from a chapter in my book #Loneliness that so far hundred thousands of people have watched and shared it across various social media channels. In a nutshell, this talk is a global call for us to remember what makes us human being and not human doings that we are more and more forced to become.

In medical terms, when someone is “comatose”, they are merely unconscious for an indefinite period of time. This just means that they cannot “think”, but their brains can still work. The brain can still send commands to the body, which includes functions such as breathing, metabolizing, etc. The person is still considered living because she/he still undergoes biological processes.

In the real world, what I describe as someone is living in a “coma”, is:

A person who is not consciously aware of their self-negative thoughts, feelings, disempowered behaviours, habits, actions, and desires that make them seek outside validation for the things that they inwardly have and possess.

Why is this happening?

The noise, the demands and the distractions of the outside world not only have made us forget our true nature, it has also desensitised our five primary sensory inputs through which we perceive our outer reality leaving us feeling disempowered, disorientated, and dissatisfied with life-the most precious gift we all have. The inbuilt quest to find answers to life’s everyday challenges is forcing many of us to go within in search of solutions and the meaning of life.

Traveling around the world speaking, teaching, and consulting people from all professions and market sectors helped me realize that no matter what culture, religion, or nationality we come from, deliberately we are forced into using apps that not only take our precious time but also force us into forgetting our human nature. That part of ourselves that wants to connect, forge meaningful relationships, love and be loved.

What can people, parents, leaders, educational institutions, and governments do about it?

There are many things we all can do attempt to awaken those parts of our human nature that consciously or subconsciously we have put to sleep. You can use the first five steps of the TJS Evolutionary method: ALARM™ to bring you to your own acknowledgement of where in your personal, family, or professional life you are living in a “coma”:

  1. Become aware of what part of your life is impacted by the above-mentioned issues and list all of your problems in a word document or in a notebook.
  2. For each problem identified, attempt to awaken the intelligence that is hidden behind every problem you may be facing in your life. Write down what is truly asking you to do.
  3. Your life is the proof and the teacher that can help you see the harmony or the discord in your inner world. Listen to the alert that your body and each of the identified issues is trying to communicate to you.
  4. Ask yourself this question: Am I paying attention to those alerts, or am I finding outside distraction to avoid the pain you may feel deep inside?
  5. Take a moment to reflect, identify the desired action that wakes you up from the coma you have identified in your personal, professional or business life.
  6. Once you are clear about what the above five steps mean for you and your organisation, make a list of all the actions you will take, create a plan, and start taking one action at a time. This will build the acknowledgement you require to satisfy those unmet voids that force you to seek instant dopamine fix.

Over time, I have helped many people who have been in a “life coma” and supported many organizations to resolve all sort of personal, leadership, and business challenges using the conscious principles embedded in the TJS Evolutionary method: ALARM™.

Whether you want to increase your productivity, performance, and profits in your business, or address confidence, self-worthiness, relationship, family, or many issues, my proven integrated TJS approach can help you awaken from the “coma” and the associated side effects that you may be experiencing. If this is you, do get in touch, it would be a pleasure to help you achieve quantum leaps and assist your organization excel.

I trust everything shared helps you on your journey to inspiring action in your teams, leaders, build a healthy organizational culture, make smart choices, decisions and support you on your journey to loving the most precious thing you have- the gift of life.

I love hearing your thoughts, so do leave your comments, share this article with those who may find it beneficial, and learn to listen to your inner ALARM, as it is what helps you live in your greatness.

Love and Wisdom,

Tony J. Selimi

P.S. Would you like to learn how to be more productive, perform better and lead a profitable personal and business life? I love to encourage restorative behaviour in all its forms, which is why until end of January I am offering 50% off this well-sought Mindfulness for Business course. Be sure to take advantage of this discount while it lasts! You can try a cut down version of the course for Free by clicking HERE.