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Why it’s Important to Focus on the Present
You might think I was distracted if you and I had a conversation twelve years ago. You might have noticed I was less attentive, even blurry.
What you wouldn’t have seen — just below the surface — was the overwhelm — an underground torrent.
Or my mind drifting to other items on the ‘list’ — the constant attention triage.
I struggled with poor mental health.
It was the year I took on a new Deputy Principal job. As a young father and Year 5/6 classroom teacher, I was overwhelmed most of the time.
What was missing?
- The colleagues around me who could help. I was deputising, but not for anything worthy of being called leadership.
- The strategies to remain centred on the moment I was in. I was constantly pulled in a hundred directions.
- The knowledge or mental models to understand what I was going through. ‘Sink or swim’ was not a choice.
I choose to be fully present.
Today I focus on the present because I can control that. I can bring all of my experience, understanding and focus to what is here, right now.
I practice it when I am meeting or talking with others. I choose to see them in high definition, not…
