Hi!
Last week I talked to you about the power of one minute. I committed to a full minute (big deal, huh?) to sit quietly – no tech, no to do list, no tasking – and just be. For me, my minute was…
Meh.
First of all, I discovered that just being is not comfortably in my wheelhouse. Anyone who knows me personally – or has been reading these emails for while – is likely not currently showing their shocked face. This is why I’m terrible at yoga. And probably why I could use some.
Some of you wrote back that you took me up on the challenge. I heard about a minute to pet a dog, a minute to watch a sleeping child, a minute to water plants, a minute to choose a music playlist for the day, even a minute to just scream. And I’m SO curious to know how those landed for you. And for anyone else who tried this.
Those messages I received taught me something important. Nearly everyone who wrote to me explained why they chose what they chose. And each one made sense to me. If you’re looking to lower your blood pressure, petting your pet is going to help most people do that. For the dad who wanted to remind himself of the gratitude and pleasure in parenting a currently very frustrating teen, watching them sleep might be just the right minute. And I realized, when I chose being quiet for a minute a day I was waiting for “magic to happen” and not aiming towards any particular goal of mine.
I got to spend the bulk of this week with one of my best friends in the world, and she read last week’s email. She asked me if I’d been doing the one minute and how it was going. My honest answer? “It’s boring.” She might still be laughing.
Choosing a minute that wasn’t aimed towards something that mattered to me, something with a purpose that served me, meant that I didn’t have what I needed to overcome my boredom. I mean, I did the thing all week because I told you people I would, but… meh.
Resilience requires us to aim for a goal. We can’t navigate change without having an idea of where we want to go and why. So I’m going to try again on this challenge, since I got it notright this time.
The goal I’m choosing is: to be less sore at the end of the day.
I’m going to use my one minute to: stretch.
So, how did yours go? Did you try it or might you? What was your purpose and did it help? Comment, I’m really curious!
All my best,
Dr. G
