A Confession!

Any man who can kiss a pretty girl and drive safely is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”

~ Albert Einstein

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I have a confession to make. I used to think I was really good at multi-tasking. In fact, I was proud to profess that I was pretty competent when it came to doing many things at once. Now, I’m here to say that I’m not very good at it at all. In fact, outside of chewing gum and walking at the same time, I realize that I shouldn’t be very good at doing more than one thing at a time. Instead, my focus should be on being good at the one thing I’m doing at the present time.

Because of our busy, hectic lifestyles, we tend to sacrifice quality for quantity. We tend to work harder, but not smarter. We believe that the more things we can “juggle” at one time, the better off we’ll be. Research has proven the opposite. People who multi-task while performing cognitive tasks experience a measurable drop in IQ (University of London). Medical research has demonstrated an increase in cortisol (the stress hormone) when people multi-task. Constantly switching from one activity to the next is downright stressful and exhausting. Glaring examples of the dangers of multi-tasking is texting/talking on the phone while driving.

Multi-tasking creates a lack of focus. It’s incredibly hard to focus when you have “a lot of balls in the air.” So today, I’m giving up multi-tasking for mindfulness. Mindfulness is deliberate awareness of the present moment. The first place I’m starting is with my “smart devices.” A smart device is the consummate multi-tasking lure. Don’t believe me - take a look at the number of “apps” you have on your phone and/or the number of apps that you have running at any one time. Text messages, e-mail messages, and voice messages instantly appear on-screen and distract you from the present moment. The enticement of Facebook notifications, Instagram photos, and tweets (Twitter) are social media thieves. They easily steal the present moment away from you.

Here’s a social experiment for you. The next time you go out to a restaurant, observe how many people have their smart devices out on the table. A number of them will be “ready, willing, and able” to be distracted from the present moment. In addition, watch how many people are looking at their devices when a conversation is going on at their table. It’s not uncommon to see no conversation going on at a table because the display (information/message/photo) on the smart device is more appealing than the people present.

I’m giving up multi-tasking and working towards mindfulness. Being mindful is living in the moment. It is a deliberate awareness of what is going on in the present. It is focusing on the people and the event taking place in the given moment. It is an understanding and appreciation that the particular moment is unique and it can never be created exactly the same.

So I ask you to join me in practicing mindfulness. Now, I’m not saying that there won’t be situations where you’ll have to run in different directions. That’s just a part of life. What I am saying is to maintain your focus on and enjoy the direction you happen to be running in. So I ask you, would you rather have a mind full (over-taxed) or be mindful?

I’m glad that I made this confession. It feels liberating! If I ever get asked, “Can you multi-task?” I’ll probably just say the only thing I think I can do is chew gum and walk at the same time!

Here’s to being mindful of mindfulness!

It's your life: live it, love it & celebrate it!

MJD