Zing

Don’t ask me where this came from, it just came out my mouth…

“It’s like we just zing!”

I was having a conversation with a friend relaying the connection I felt with a new colleague / acquaintance of mine recently.

It’s an onomatopoeia – the word describes the feeling, it sounds like what it’s doing or its definition.

I live through my body, I see, sense, and feel everything through my body filter first before it reaches the heart and then my head. To “zing” is quite a real experience for me, somatically. I don’t know how it crept into my vocabulary, I guess it was my body talking, and not my mouth.

Is Zing even a word?

But it’s a weird term, right? It’s a word I think I never heard anyone ever say to me.

The last time I heard it referenced was many years ago watching Hotel Transylvania with my then, 6 year-old daughter. In Hotel Transylvania, “zing” is used to describe the powerful, instant connection that one feels when they meet their true love. It’s a play on the idea of love at first sight, where two people (or vampires, in this case) immediately recognise that they are meant to be together. The concept is portrayed as a rare and magical event, where one’s heart “zings” when they meet their soulmate. It’s a sweet, whimsical way to express that deep, undeniable spark between two beings.

With the above definition, I’ve had one real life experience of this, and this person never fails to evoke that reaction in me, time and time again, whenever I’m remotely in close proximity to them. Although the “meant to be together bit” makes it feel a little saccharin, and that to “zing” must involve a single and specific form of love, and even that it must monogamous.

So when I said “it’s just like we zing” to my friend about a colleague recently, this was not a “love at first sight, meant to be together” thing nor was anyway comparable to the “Hotel Transylvania” experience I had above.

It was more an experience of an immediate and strong connection or chemistry with them. I think “zing” can be used to describe the kind of spark where conversations flow effortlessly, mutual attraction is clear, or you feel an electrifying energy when you’re in conversation. This could refer to a romantic context of course, but here I’m feeling it in a more platonic context, but nevertheless, where there’s a dynamic that feels exciting, aligned, or naturally engaging.

“Zinging”

“Zinging” with someone might also suggest a playful, flirtatious exchange or witty banter that makes interactions lively and fun. It’s that moment when two people just click and share a vibe that feels unique and full of energy.
With this context, there’s many people I “zing” with, and every-time this happens, it produces an aliveness in me that often guides an inspiration, a creative source in me or the need to act in some new way. It’s an exciting way to live. It’s my lifeforce coming alive.

It got me thinking about how important “zinging” is at work. When I’ve zinged with a colleague in the past at work, how that changed the dynamic of my work and how I performed. What if we all had that “zing” partner, or “community of zingers” at work, that elevate what we do, into new spaces, beyond our normal realms of thinking.

Who wants to join a Zing-fest?

I’d love to start a campaign for “zinging”… for the zing seekers, the zing curious, for those who have touched and felt it before, and want that feeling back, for those that have the zing to share and receive. The high energy, lovers of humanity, who live on passion, purpose, honestly, depth and vulnerability, and can hold the safe space for the zing to take you whether you need to go if you just listen hard enough. I’d love to be in room, full of people all “zinging”… can you imagine… imagine what it would do for the world if we all had a bit more “zing” in our step.

One day, I’ll create “Zing-fest”! Watch this space.
But for now… where do you go to find your zing? Who is your “zing” partner?