I’d like to share a couple quick thoughts to ponder this week.
Consider the idea of being FULLY ENGAGED in your day, something I talk to clients about a lot.
“Fully engaged,” meaning what, exactly? You can come up with your own definition, but for me, it’s being dialed into what you’re doing, bringing all of yourself with you into “today.”
To be fully engaged means to be PRESENT, not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and relationally, as well.
Now, there are 2 things that can become barriers to us being fully engaged. There are actually way more than 2, but these are at the “tippy top” of my list.
BARRIER #1: DISTRACTION. There are SO MANY ways that we can become distracted that it’s ridiculous. You know what all those ways are. Too much distraction leads to a disengaged day. Some distraction is normal, and at times even healthy, so no big deal. But too much really pulls us out of the day.
BARRIER #2: ANXIETY. This can be related to distraction, but it’s potentially much bigger. Not always, but there are times when we may be anxious to the point of avoiding the thing that makes us anxious. And as a result, we may end up leaning AWAY from our day rather than leaning INTO our day.
And it’s this leaning into the day that’s a prerequisite for being fully engaged.
A couple other quick things . . .
One way to stay fully engaged is to practice staying fully engaged in the MOMENT. Ok, that sounds like a lot. There are millions of moments in any day.
But it’s developing a practice of tuning into the moment, every so often, throughout the day.
Every so often.
And this is basically what MINDFULNESS is, that many of you already practice, or are at least aware of. It’s been part of mainstream culture for the last 20 years or so, but has been around for centuries.
Think of mindfulness as being mindful and tuned into the present moment, and opening yourself up to the full experience of what’s going on around you. Being aware of what’s going on in all of your senses.
Every so often, tune in like that.
My apologies to my friends who are committed mindfulness practitioners if I botched the definition.
So in conclusion, go into “today” with the intention of being present and engaged.
And when you find yourself distracted and disengaged? Then nudge yourself back to being engaged–that’s all. Simple. Don’t beat yourself up.
Make it a practice. Incremental improvement.
We can miss a lot of life going through the day not truly being present and staying disengaged. We can be living but not quite “alive.”
That’s all for now. Stay safe, be well.
Sean