Heads Up!
A little over a year ago I attended one of several professional conferences on my annual calendar. Most of the conferences I attended brought opportunities to network and gain information to take back to my organization to share with my team or colleagues or even my leadership. Almost always these little nuggets of knowledge related to the work we were engaged in. But at this particular conference I learned something so important and life changing that it is worthy of sharing over and over, at work, with family, with friends or anyone who will listen.
It was during a morning session with the keynote speaker that my world was rocked. And for anyone who knows the world of procurement where I practiced my skills, to have your world rocked by anything procurement related is a rare occasion. Suffice it to say this was that rare occasion.
The speaker asked us to take a few minutes and reflect on a certain aspect of our working practices. I don’t recall the specifics of the exercise; they are not important. What is important is that I always take these reflection challenges very seriously, some might say too seriously. Please don’t judge me. In true Teresa fashion I accepted the speaker’s challenge and when he said take a few minutes and jot your thoughts down on the tablet in front of you, I put my head down and began reflecting, enjoying the challenge I had been given. About 10 seconds into the reflection period I realized there was an annoying sound in the auditorium. It was that super irritating static sort of sound that sometimes comes when an audio system is not working correctly. I kept my head down and just thought to myself, ok they are prepping the next portion of the presentation. Surely this will go away ANY second now. But it didn’t. It just kept going and going and going, for what seemed like an eternity. In reality it was maybe 1 to 2 minutes and I felt my frustration and annoyance growing with each second that ticked by. And, I was unsuccessful at just blocking it out. I found myself thinking, come on, doesn’t the speaker know I’m thinking and thinking REALLY hard and that noise is distracting! Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore. I looked up with two objectives in mind. One, I’d catch the eye of the speaker and he would instantly read my frustration and realize the error of his ways and make the annoying sound disappear – oh and of course apologize to us all for this misstep. Or two, I would see what needed to happen and being the “fixer” that I am, I’d instantly jump in, fix the problem and garner the eternal gratitude of my fellow attendees in the room. That was far from what came next.
When I did look up, I was surprised, humbled and a bit embarrassed. The source of that irritating sound I described with my head down, was actually a video of a beautiful waterfall playing out on the big screen in front of us all. Huh. What I perceived as static was the water crashing down over a beautiful cliff in jaw dropping volume. The sound now changed from irritating static to moving water that heightened my sense of reflection and peace. I sat back in my chair and chuckled at myself and my severe misinterpretation of the situation breathing a sigh of relief that I didn’t just act on impulse and really embarrass myself in public. And then came the realization of how powerful this experience was and how it is real and present in our lives every single day.
I believe we waste far too much time with our heads down. We spend countless hours, even days, focusing on what is between our heads and our heals. We get stuck sometimes on what is in that limited space and ignore what is around us. I walk a lot outdoors. It is part of my physical and spiritual routine. Since the experience at that conference I have become more intentional about looking up and forward. This intentional practice has allowed me to swallow up some absolutely glorious moments in nature. If I had my head down during some of these moments, the only thing I would have seen would have been the placement of my feet on the pavement in front of me. What a shame that would be to have missed amazing sunrises peaking, graceful hawks soaring by or the occasional rabbit or fox go about their daily tasks. There have been moments when numerous such events are taking place at the same time and to see the grandness of nature, the beauty our creator intended for us is something we should seek out. With our heads up we get that view. With our heads down we see very little but what is right underneath us.
There is also the matter of the noise. With my head down, I was feeling agitated and was unable to dismiss it enough to concentrate. It had a negative impact on my efforts because I was so wrong about its origin and purpose. When I raised my head and saw the beauty the noise was creating, it became a completely different experience. I could settle into the vision of the water fall and the sound seemed to almost disappear, or at least soften enough to allow my thinking to return.
I believe too often we do the same thing in our personal finances. We stay buried in the moment and often feel there is no grand view to take in. We let the noise of others or our past crowd out our ability and/or willingness to dive in and change our circumstances. If you’re in debt or struggling to make ends meet or even not sure how you can change your circumstances you may be in the exact same place I was at that conference last year. You may be putting your head down, attempting to fix a problem or change a situation. You may be so buried in the static of that situation or annoyed at the static that you are missing an opportunity for peace and reflection. If so, I want to challenge you to look up. Get a glimpse of the entire scope of your life. Take some time with your head up to make sure you know exactly what is going on in your world. With your head up, you might see a friend or family member (or financial coach) who can come along side you and help you change your future. With your head up, you may remove agitations that are not real and instead see something wonderful that can help you clear your mind and soothe you into more positive thinking. With your head up, you may notice something that gives you hope and encouragement or perhaps allows you to get a sense of gratitude and confidence to move forward.
Don’t get me wrong, there is a time and place where it is necessary to focus on something intently. If you’ve never worked on a budget before, you might find that you need to sit in a chair and concentrate on that process. If you need to address creditors about bills you’re not able to pay next month, you might need to take a hard swallow and place that call throwing your whole being into working toward a solution. If you are seeking help in changing your spending habits, you might need to intently explore coaching. However, even in digging into these kinds of intense focus areas, remember to look up periodically. Go into the budget process exploration after you’ve held your head up and noticed the entirety of your circumstances. Keep your head up when speaking to that creditor to make sure you really hear them and they hear you. Explore ways to improve your circumstances with your head up so that you see the future is in your hands and you have the power to change your behavior and your circumstances.
At that conference when I raised my head and realized what was there in plain sight for me, the beautiful scene provided me with peace and tranquility – certainly not what I was experiencing before lifting my head. In that moment, I was able to refocus and think more clearly and truly respond to the challenge presented to me. You too will have greater clarity, peace, confidence and experiences walking through life with your head up!
