Is That Which Is Going On Around You That Boring?

I tend to meet with my clients in person, which means that I’m often out on the road meeting them in public places. Between clients, I’ll stop and catch up on my preparation, reading and planning by stopping at a local shopping mall. I was doing this the other day, when I glanced up from what I was preparing. In observing the scene around me, what registered I found flabbergasting. At least 50% of the people were walking along with their heads down, looking at some kind of electronic device. They were either typing away or immersed in what they saw on their screens. There was a complete sense of being unaware of what was happening around them.

I understand that technology puts us in contact with each other quicker than ever before. There is value in being able to contact someone quickly, especially in an emergency. However, have we reached the point in our world, where the people we are with, those that are around us at that moment have become that disinteresting? Are the people around you that boring?

We can choose to live our lives in several ways. Some tend to live in the past. They think through what has happened to them. They lament the things that have gone wrong, and long for those things that have gone well, hoping they reoccur exactly as they did in the past, again. Others live constantly in the future. They worry about the outcome of their ventures and their plans, without enjoying the steps along the way, or even acknowledging there will be steps along the way. The calmest way to approach life is to live it in the present. When we truly live in the present, when our thoughts are focused on what is around us, when we absorb in with our senses that which is happening to us, when we fully experience that which we are doing in the moment, is when we are the happiest.

As I indicated earlier, I meet with most of my clients in person. That time they are with me is special for them, because it is time for them to truly devote to themselves. They’re able to reflect on what they want in their lives, and the steps they choose to take to achieve it. Yet some of them will cheat themselves in their sessions with me by feeling the necessity to check every message they receive, every call that comes in, etc. Ultimately they’ll come back to the conversation at hand, but in those moments they’re only robbing themselves of that special time they have to connect to what they truly want in their lives.

If you find yourself continually frustrated, ask yourself the following question. Where is my attention at any given moment in time? Is it on what I am doing in the present? Is it fully focused on enjoying those around me, and the surroundings of which I am a part? Or is my mind thinking of where I’ve been or what is to happen next? Am I focused on that message coming across my screen, (whether it be a phone, a computer terminal, or whatever electronic device you are involved with at that moment)? I must admit, I can get distracted as much as the next individual. But, I also know, I’m at my calmest, I’m feeling my best, and my internal energy is highest, when I’m fully engaged in what it is that is right in front of me. What about yourself? Are you able to do a better job of focusing on being with those you are with and the surroundings of which you are a part? Consider giving it a try.