Reflections from Z Tejas . . .
May 10, 2018
One of the things that writing this blog is forcing me to do is to focus on the positive even when I feel anxious about things that are beyond my control. Basically, it is necessitating that I take a “purposeful pause.” To stop for a moment . . . breathe . . . clear my mind of the overwhelming “to do” list, travel schedule, and family emergencies . . . so that I can gain clarity.
A couple of years ago, I was introduced to the “purposeful pause” through the Texas Injury Prevention Leadership Collaborative. The Leadership Collaborative is an initiative that some of my friends and I have established. While it may seem incredulous that I agreed to start a new initiative and project with friends after just mentioning “overwhelming” work obligations in the previous paragraph, but the Texas Injury Prevention Leadership Collaborative and the mindful leadership training that we offer through the Collaborative has helped me gain perspective and weather tumultuous times.
The Institute for Mindful Leadership notes that often the strongest current we face is the flood of thoughts and reactions filling our mental space and making us distracted or preoccupied. Practicing purposeful pauses – intentionally interrupting mental busyness by taking a few moments to simply pay attention to being present, to repeatedly synchronize our minds with our bodies – cultivates leadership presence. This can be done by momentarily stopping to feel the breeze of a cool wind, the scents and aroma from walking into a familiar place, or even the music piped in at your favorite restaurant. The Institute for Mindful Leadership says that being synchronized affects how we function. And because of the ripple effect, that affects how others around us function. Taking a purposeful pause may affect how we react to a snarky text message. Instead of reacting negatively and sending a snarky reply, taking a purposeful pause may help us remember the sender of the text is in a stressful situation. Sending a snarky reply will only perpetuate the stress and continued negativity. Instead of struggling to gain focus and clarity while overcome with waves of emotions, it becomes easier to remember to use our bodily sensations to help us stay in the moment so we can see what’s called for now.
Today, I’m trying to practice this. May is typically a busy month for me and includes multiple business trips, with long (although productive) meetings. Regardless of how productive these meetings can be, the schedule is also very tiring (especially at my age)! At the moment I’m in Austin for meetings. I’m staying at a hotel that is my “home away from home” for approximately 20 nights a year. The hotel is walking distance to one of my favorite restaurants in Austin – Z Tejas. Instead of sitting in my room to work on my endless “to do” list, I packed up my computer and walked to Z Tejas for lunch. Sitting on the patio with a cool breeze accompanying the 85-degree temperatures has been refreshing. The “to do” list is still there, but the purposeful pause has done more to prepare me for my next conference call, next meeting, and the weekend ahead than constantly completing one project just to start the next one. Feeling the Austin breeze means more than putting a check mark on an item on my “to do” list 30 minutes earlier.
#tryingttopracticewhatIpreach
#stillaworkinprogress