Pay attention. Truly pay attention!

YEARS ago I used to say the beauty of my daughter was that she had such an eye for detail, she would pause and get totally absorbed in the wonder of whatever she was looking at. She wasn’t thinking about yesterday or even the playgroup she left an hour ago. She wasn’t thinking what she would be doing on vacation in a week. She was totally focused on the here and now, studying the patterns on a leaf, or mixing paints on her palette - at that moment. Practicing presence, years before ‘living in the present’ was on my radar:).
 
When I began my new P/T job I found this book “Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much” sitting on my desk.  Each morning when I get to Christ Lutheran Church, I try to read that day’s reading. Yesterday’s reading made me realize one of the reasons I love my new job. For those four to six hours I only think about that job. I am learning something new so I have to be focused! I don’t check personal emails, Facebook posts, texts (which is simply other people trying to control your time)... I can’t change a load of laundry, or worry about whether there are enough speakers for the Cohasset Rotary Club for the next month. I simply focus on the project I am working on that hour. It works. Even though I’ve added a 20 hour a week job to my already busy schedule I feel I’m more relaxed. I’m not focusing on the past, present and future of all the balls in the air because I’m only focusing on that one ball and doing my best at that job at the moment. I am still doing my two other jobs, advocating and educating with Beautycounter and Integrated Nutrition Health Coaching, I’m just more effective at them in a shorter period of time. I used to believe I was excellent at multi-tasking.  OK, I found I’m not! As I tell my son, don’t be obsessed on making that sales goal at the end of the month because you won’t be your best at what you’re doing now. Simply be the best you can be for the client you are working with at that moment. The rest will fall into place. Single Focus (practicing presence) = less stress = lower blood sugar/lower blood pressure = better health/more effective.