Big Cabin, Oklahoma
October 24, 2022
An implicit goal of my wanderabout is to become more emotionally enlightened. This is a journey I have been on for a while -- through meditation, mindfulness, therapy (thanks, Mark!), reading and watching. Like so much in life, it is not a linear progression -- the trend has been upward but progress has been an irregularly shaped sine wave -- both in terms of amplitude and frequency.
As I watched this video of Dr. Siegel's talk at Google, I envisioned a younger me sitting in the audience. At least for me, in my 20s my life sped up -- work, relationships, commitments, exercise -- there was much more to do and seemingly less time to fit in all in (although, of course, I had the same amount of time each day!). I got so busy that I developed a bad habit that I now only recognize in hindsight -- I became reactive. I allowed outside forces to determine how I spent my time and my energies. I was so unaware that even when I read "7 Habits of Highly Effective People," I didn't grasp that Mister Covey was handing me one of the tools that I needed (his quadrants of importance and urgency).
I thought about how lucky these folks at Google are to have someone talking to them about mindfulness. Because what underlies the seven habits and more so, is critical to be emotionally healthy, is the ability to be present and mindful. To not be reactive and tossed around like a top but to be present and value driven. To separate out the signal from the noise.
I've watched this video several times. There's a lot in there! From dealing with anxiety to resilience to "washing the dishes," Dr. Siegel has done a great job of packing a lot of great knowledge into 65 minutes. One watch may not be enough!
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