by Clare Goodman
Sometimes I feel like I'm multi-tasking on steroids. My phone is ringing, emails popping up and I'm trying to file client notes, deal with the cat's latest insect victim and get on with designing workshops. At these times I often walk out of the office without my car keys, client notes or laptop and spend more time having to go back and pick up the missing bits of my life.
It may surprise you but coaches often have coaches to help them grow and develop and I have more recently been working with a colleague in Melbourne – Mark Molony. It was on one of these coaching calls that Mark suggested that I have two speeds – fast and stop – and that is impacting my thinking, my perspective, stress levels and effectiveness. He challenged me to experiment with my life and find variable speeds. It sounded logical, let's face it I love the thought of life being full of possibilities so why wouldn't there be more options than go, go, go or crash! Mark asked me to experiment for a long weekend and it was an amazing experience.
I decided to start straight away and tackle 'driving slowly'. It sounds very simple but try it! I got into my sporty car and drove it at a slow pace through the city to my appointment just noticing how it felt. It felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. Slowing down, enabled me to breathe more easily, and I felt relaxed. I got to my destination on time but I wasn't feeling stressed. So with this encouragement I started to 'walk slowly'. I purposefully focused on each step that I took, slowing down my walk to a half pace. Again the impact was immediate, I felt more connected with the surroundings, more relaxed and a sense of calm. I felt I had endless bandwidth available, with a clearer head and calmer physiology, my bandwidth wasn't being drained by needless demands.
The experiment was working so I decided to take it a stage further. I decided to go cold turkey focus on one task at a time. As a multi-tasker, this has taken some getting used to, but like meditation if you are consciously aware it is easy. Then you drift off into distraction, but by bringing myself back to the task at hand I have better focus. Now this one I haven't conquered yet as I'm replacing 40+ year old habits. This means that I am writing this without the company of my iTunes library. Being in silence is quite scary for me, I am used to filling my life with noise, but what I have discovered is that noise eats up some of my bandwidth so instead of pouring my effort into writing it is shared with paying attention to The Dixie Chicks. I have extended the practice to pausing at the end of each task to signify the end of one task and the beginning of another. It slows down my messy mind to focusing on what is needed now, not what I need to do later!
I decided that I needed to spend some time in appreciation by dog walking in beautiful surrounds I was able to spend time appreciating a beautiful gum tree. Even now I can remember the colours, the seeping gum and the contrast of the branches on the blue sky. It was a peaceful time and I was unaware of myself in the moment! Thinking and feeling appreciation is right out of the 101 positive psychology textbook and it is a powerful tool. By noticing and appreciating I felt different. My mind had a break from problem solving and creating. It felt like my mind took a deep sigh!
When I was out with the dog, I decided to take the experiment to another level and had an amazing experience. Now before I explain what I did I want to tell you that I have a very well trained dog, and not to try this one at home!! I walked through the park with my eyes closed. My dog was my guide and she led me through the twists and turns of the path. I shut my eyes for minutes at a time as we walked along. The impact was immediate I could hear things – the birds, the runner behind me, the hum of the traffic and my shoes on the path. My hearing was intense, yet when I opened my eyes and was bombarded by visual data, my hearing went quieter, I was so mesmerized by the colours of the bush, the greens, the blues, burnt reds and all. Closing down something I rely on so heavily has brought to life my other senses.
The experiment continues with short meditations, interval training for the mind and breathing exercises. Each day I will experiment more and see what happens. I feel like my bandwidth has increased and I do feel that less of it is wasted on messy uncontrollable thinking. I feel like even after only this short time that I have the ability to consciously decide what my mind is spending its time doing. Now I know that I'm only just starting this journey, but even after a short time I can feel the difference. My thoughts have calmed, my stress levels have decreased and I can create moments where my mind sighs – it can rest before heading off again to solve the problems of the world.
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