Be Where Your Feet Are By: Dr. Kevin Elko Jamie Anderson, the recent USA Olympic gold medalist, when asked what was behind her performance, said she was reading about staying in the present and simply put that philosophy into practice. Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not guaranteed, but today is a gift; that is why we call it the present! The present is the sudden taking of possession of your mind rather than allowing all the sensory stimuli to take it to other places besides the right here and now. There is a Zen-like story of a man in ancient times, running from a pride of lions, until he came to a cliff, which he started to climb down, but when he looked at the bottom of the cliff, another pride of lions was waiting for him; just at that moment, as he was hanging there, he spotted a big, juicy, ripe strawberry on a vine, so he reached out, ate it, and enjoyed it. Could he have been more in the present? Can you be as much in the present now? Few are, and that dilemma is one of the biggest challenges today: the wandering mind. In Aldous Huxley’s novel Island, trained parrots fly over people and chirp, Here and now, boys, here and now. This constant reminder focuses the inhabitants of the Island from the constant wandering of their minds. Working with many companies on leadership and safety, I have taken a lesson from these parrots; I have people constantly chant, Be where your feet are. I have found the lesson of the parrots powerful. Constantly cue yourself to be in this very place at this very moment. Think about it: we are in elementary school, but we can’t wait to go to middle school so we don’t have to stand in line to go to the bathroom; then, we are in middle school, but we can’t wait to go to high school so we can attend dances and drive. Then, we can’t wait to move on from high school to go to college so we don’t have our parents looking over our shoulder and we can be on our own. Next, we can’t wait to graduate from college to find a job so we can make some money; however, then, we can’t wait until we marry so we can have someone to share life with. Then, we can’t wait until we retire to get away from the job, so that, at that point, we start talking about the good ole days – but we never had ONE! When your mind wanders – and that happens most of the time for most people – do you know what it is wandering to? For me, I wonder what I’m going to cook for dinner, do for dinner; I wonder how I’m going to get my “to do” list done; I wonder how I’m going to finish a certain project. It’s me, or I should say, I’m, I’m, I’m, and this wandering is what produces the hijacked mind. The answer to the wandering and the anxiety is to be where your feet are, to do what you are doing as you are doing it (Here and now, boys and girls.). We want to blame this to-do list anxiety on others and on our circumstances, and surely we need to establish boundaries and get cooperation at work and home. But the culprit is the wandering mind, conditioned to be hijacked by me, and the answer is to focus on what you are doing in this moment. Be where your feet are! Research says that people who are able to stay out of me and train their mind to stay in the present and with the task at hand are happier people. The University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban and I have an almost daily discussion about performance. The biggest challenge we had last year – and we had a few – was that many players’ minds were off to “the next place” in their life while they were physically in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Before judging those young men, know that that that kind of thinking is the norm today. How often do you see people of all ages sitting with friends and family yet texting and being involved in a conversation on their phones with someone else someplace else? Nobody challenges that notion, but it’s epidemic. Yet it’s not a health way to live. In our new leadership series, Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing, we talk about constantly reminding people, for the sake of safety and performance, to be where their feet are. We emphasize that a leader plays a role very similar to the parrots on the island. We teach that great leaders are skilled talking parrots, repeating to be in the present. That parrot concept is not only for a great leader but also for a very effective parent and a good friend. When we teach and learn, not objectively but subconsciously, results follow. Likewise, I sit in the morning and whisper to myself, Be still and know that I am the Lord. It is very powerful slowly and deeply to breathe this message for five minutes. You will be so much more present in your life and for your family with just five minutes of that meditation. In other words, don’t just do something; sit there! Try one-day-at-a-time full absorption at what you are doing at that time. Be the parrot for yourself and those around you: Be where your feet are. Take five minutes in the morning or before you go home from work, breathe deeply, and whisper, Be still and know that I am The Lord. That kind of thinking produces gold medals, a productive work force, and happy, peaceful souls.
Posted on: Wed, 26 Mar 2014 14:13:06 +0000
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