One of the things I enjoy most is being inspired by others and learning another way to connect with people in both my professional and personal pathways.
I attended a workshop not so long ago that reminded me how important work/life balance is and inspired me to be more mindful of how my mood was when coming into a room and to be here now. Even though the workshop was focused on how I approached others in the workplace, I saw so many things I could take away and apply it at home.
The concepts and teachings weren’t new. I’ve heard them in different trainings in the past, I just left feeling so rejuvenated and ready to go back to my life with more energy. I’ll be truthful, the timing was at a time I needed it the most. I hadn’t been feeling my usual optimistic self and had become really withdrawn and negative, especially in my work life. I could tell that it could eventually get in the way of my personal life and it was like a blessing that this workshop came around the time it did.
I was able to concentrate on myself and understand how I could change the way I was feeling and get back to seeing things in a more positive light.
The light bulb moment was when we talked about how to be here now. Sounds so simple, right? Be here now sounds so simple, but is so hard to practice. How many times in a day do I multi-task at work and at home? Do I really hear what you are saying or do I just gather the pieces I think are important to the conversation? I realized that I wasn’t fully being here now with anyone.
Example 1: When I am in a conversation or meeting, I easily get distracted if I see a notification pop up on my phone because maybe it’s something about the kids.
Example 2: I am constantly checking email or phone when I am on conference calls.
Example 3: I start thinking about my next task in the middle of a conversation and I completely miss what the person is saying.
These are just some of the examples I found about myself as I was journaling. I can find a lot more if I start to dissect every minute of every day. I’m always multi-tasking to get things done at work and I find myself doing this at home too when it should be time for me to concentrate on my kids and husband. Squeezing everything in a short period of time is causing me to miss out more than I ever thought. Am I missing key moments because my mind is already on to the next thing? I wanted to practice being here now.
It happened that night after dinner. We decided to do some furniture browsing and we needed to stop by Target to pick up some grocery items. I found myself repeating to myself that night, Be Here Now.
You know what I found? I enjoyed my time without the things clouding my mind that I knew I’d need to do eventually. I did not check my phone that evening until after everyone was off to bed. You know what I found? I didn’t miss anything. No urgent emails or texts that I couldn’t deal with until the next day.
Target wasn’t as stressful that night. I wasn’t distracted by other things on my phone or around me, I was concentrating on those I loved in front of me.
I noticed that I don’t check my phone as often (sometimes to my husband’s annoyance when he is trying to get ahold of me for something) while I’m in a meeting at work or doing something with the kids or spending time with family and friends. My attention is with them.
If my phone isn’t in my purse, it’s turned over on the table. I actually noticed that the last coffee date I had, the person I was with saw that and turned her phone over as well after she checked it a few times (wouldn’t have noticed that before!).
Be Here Now. No matter who you are with or what you are doing, practicing this phrase truly helped me remember to enjoy the moment I am in and not let other worries or issues cloud my mind. I can deal with those later. My relationship with you is too precious to ignore.
