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Get out of your head for a minute.
So says my highly motivational spin instructor (who might not have known that gem was working till now…). What I get from that—my spin on it, if you will—is “be in the moment.” That also happens to be one of my resolutions this year.
It’s so simple, really, the idea of just being. Being present. Focusing on what is happening right where you are. Yet we are a multitasking society, so we sort of forget how to just focus on one thing. Now going back to one thing at a time has become my resolution; I bet at one point I resolved to get more things done at once! Oh well….
Mike and I used to do this yoga DVD all the time when we had just had a baby and couldn’t get to the gym much. The guy says something we quote (in jest) to this day: “Just be where you’re at, ‘cause you’re already there.” Suddenly, I get that.
So for me, this means when I’m playing with my kids, I’m not simultaneously working on my laptop or planning workouts. I’m certainly not talking on the phone while I’m driving (I’m good for nothing when distracted by my phone in the car). I’m looking at the person who’s speaking to me and listening to what she has to say before coming up with my response. I’m hearing you.
Such a small thing—just be here now. And yet… when you consciously work at it you see how very hard it can be, and when you succeed at it you feel excellent, so it must be worth doing. I’m torn about the daydreaming while exercising. I personally like to get lost in my reading when I’m climbing the stairs at the gym, and I am positive I’m working hard. If I were not reading, I might work harder, true—but I think I might quit sooner. When I run I like to fade out of my legs and into my music. But I do understand the point, and I do think it works because remembering not to daydream brings my attention back to my bike and my tension knob every time.
The greater lesson is loud and clear. Take the small moments you have to yourself for everything they can give you. Don’t daydream the moments away!
