I had an experience this week; one that I am incredibly grateful for. I was selected for a prestigious training program at work, which quite honestly blew me away. Even 4 years into working for this company, I am not quite used to the tremendous investment that is made into employee experience and development.
The expectation for being part of this experience was that we were fully present. While we had breaks, we were encouraged not to take any meetings or calls and to set a clear out-of-office message. Part of the encouragement for this came in the form of bringing us to a location far away from the office that did not offer any cell service. We got to experience fresh air, and nature, and just that alone created the space that allowed us to comply.
So as of now, I have 400 emails. It blows my mind that so much can pile up over the course of a few days, but that is the world that we live in. I also have no regrets. I got to fully embrace this experience by being there, fully present.
Today’s human’s are often criticized for being addicted to phones. Since it is very unlikely that phones are going away any time soon, we need to learn how to co-exist with our devices. We need to look at the fact that it may not be our phones that are the problem, it may be our egos. Our desires to see if someone has emailed us, texted us, or tagged us can consume us and suck the life out of us. We’ve been made to think that we need to respond RIGHT NOW. Think about that the next time that you have the opportunity to invest in yourself by being present. Go on vacation, attend a conference, go on a retreat. Perhaps be so bold as to leave your phone in airplane mode and check it just once a day, just in case. Set the right expectation with friends and family. Because unless you are a medical professional or first responder, guess what?! It can wait. You are not that important. I say that with love…
