Would you like to have more impact with your clients? Do you want to feel closer and more connected to others? To experience more pleasure & fulfillment in your life?

Living in a busy mind was a new realization to me. It was my norm. Once I started to see it, I saw my revved-up state, my restlessness and how active my mind was.

Seeing it was important. But the transformative piece came when I stopped respecting it. 

When I began to understand the relationship between the quality of my mind in the moment and whatever I was doing in that moment, I started to see the limitation of living life more sped up.

I could see that the busier my mind, the less I was able to really feel and be touched by others and by life. My sped up internal state was keeping me from being impacted more deeply. In a way, it was creating a “film” that was diluting my experience of connection, presence, fulfillment and pleasure.

I also began to see that I was distracted. I didn't appreciate how distracted I was. 

Not too long ago I heard Aaron Turner, a thought leader in this field, ask a participant in a training, “What if, there is a less distracted state-of-mind available to you?”

That struck me. What if, even now after everything I've learned, I was living in a more distracted state than I realized?

What if, whatever state-of-mind we're in, there is a less distracted version available? 

At any given moment our minds are more or less distracted. And as a result, we are more or less present. Our level of distraction versus presence, is a variable that has huge implications.

Our level of distraction has a direct impact on the quality of our conversations, our listening, our ability to authentically connect with others and our ability to feel fulfilled – even satisfied.

Seeing this distinction gives us a powerful resource. When we see that we are distracted, we can begin to re-orient ourselves. We move our attention from wherever our heads are at and towards the person, the situation or the event in front of us.

When watching a movie or tv show, our mind wanders. Once we realize we are not paying attention, we gently put our focus back on the plot. This is natural and done with ease. This is also possible as we move throughout our day.

For instance, when we notice we are not paying attention to the conversation; we aren’t present to nature when out walking; we aren’t present to the moment; we can simply go back to the “plot”.

Once we wake up and notice we are distracted, we naturally begin to fall into the present moment. We are more present than we were the moment before.

When we are in real-time, the present moment, we experience the richness of life and our connections more fully. We feel the connection.

Beyond our thoughts and our distractions, lies a deeper quality of life. A richer experience of our lives and our relationships. 

The less distracted and the more oriented we are towards the present moment – the more we experience pleasure and fulfillment. We get touched by life in surprising and meaningful ways.

Now when I start to feel “ho-hum”, bored, underwhelmed or mediocre, I know it's not the person, the situation or the event – it's a reflection of where my head is at. I know I'm not fully here – I've gone somewhere in my mind and it is keeping me from feeling pleasure, impact and connection.

When we see distraction and move towards presence, we benefit; our conversations benefit; our relationships benefit; our work benefits and our lives benefit. 

What if, there is more on offer? What if there is more connection, well-being and fulfillment on offer but the gateway is less distraction and more presence?