It’s been a particularly interesting week in that I had a few commitments that, quite frankly, I wasn’t looking forward to. And I really questioned whether I should drop out of them, or let them go, but made the choice to go ahead and show up. And was I glad I did. Not only did they go better than I had imagined, but I picked up several pieces of interesting information for my business and two new clients!
Several years ago, I took Jon Kabat-Zinn’s Mindfulness Based Training Course at his Stress Reduction Clinic. It was there I learned the saying:
Show up.
Pay attention.
Tell your truth.
Be open to, but not attached to the outcome.
This little saying has really served me well over the years. And I have found it particularly beneficial to practice these four things in my business.
Show Up: When you want to give up, or you get tired of trying, or feel like what you’re doing isn’t working, it’s a nice reminder to keep going, keep trying, don’t give up. Where are you showing up? How are you showing up? ARE you showing up? As Woody Allen says, “Eighty percent of success is showing up”.
Pay Attention: It is so difficult in our culture with so many distractions to pay attention to just one thing. We get pulled in so many directions and lose focus. Particularly as business owners, there are so many things going on at once, that to remain present or in the moment seems nearly impossible. But I would suggest that the next time something seems like a lot of effort, or you don’t really want to do something or go to something, show up and really pay close attention to what is going on right before you. Stay focused on the conversation and the people in the room with you. I will guarantee you will see, hear and learn something that might have extraordinary benefits to your business.
Tell Your Truth: So often we don’t tell our truth, what’s on our hearts and minds and it could make such a positive difference in the world if we did. Give it a try and see what kind of difference it makes in your relationships and in your business.
Be Open To, But Not Attached to the Outcome: We sometimes have such expectations on how something “should go” or want to try and control the outcome of a situation. As someone who has high expectations of things, and is often times very attached to a particular outcome, it has become a practice of mine to let things unfold as they may.
And by doing so, I have been very pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
