Every year in January, I like to think of a word that helps me achieve an overall goal.
This year my word was “Present”
Not present as a gift, present as “be here now”
I’m a bit of what we call a day-dreamer, and can easily get lost in my thoughts. In addition to that, I do perhaps, similar to you, do so much every day that I need to be really organized for “what’s coming next”
Last year I coached two seasons of swimming, cross country, and junior volleyball.
I am a PE teacher and a lifelong learner, so I participated in different training and organized various events within my role of PE and with my team. To name a few, we organized the Sports Days (three in a row), the Angkor Wat Bike trip, an event where students cycle around the Angkor Wat temples, the PHE Week, where ES and SS students share their learning experiences, teaching each other, the swimming wipeout, for the whole ES, a fun event in the pool…
I was able to partake in “Positive Education” and “Cognitive Coaching” training as well as go to Phuket to a Physed Conference and present for other teachers around the world as well as learn from them.
As part of being a coach, many weekends were dedicated to competitions, including some traveling to Vietnam to chaperone the volleyball team. I was very happy about all these activities, events and learning experiences but I was also exhausted and definitely not always as present as I wanted to be.
I have been reflecting on this for a few months and really wanted to sit down and take a moment to write it down because I feel it’s important to pause, reflect and learn from what we did. That’s how learning sticks, and that’s how we get those annoying thoughts out of our minds.
I am happy that I choose “Present” as my word for the year and I’m mindful of those times when I am most present.
During the summer we traveled back to Europe, to Spain and Holland. While in Spain we went to the north and rented a house where there was no internet. Purposely I did not buy a sim card. The result: I only used my phone from time to time to take pictures, and spent much more quality time with my family surfing, running, and swimming in the ocean as well as playing with my kids and their cousins.
If you ever get a chance, give it a try!
This just made me think of how many distractions our phones and devices offer us constantly. During the “Positive Education” course, something that really struck me was the power of not having your device on the table, even upside down, when you want to work on something.
I feel that that’s a great tip. Another one is to be sure to allow yourself enough brain booster moments, moving around and not sitting for too long.
And as for me, I am going to try and build some “present times around my day” where if I’m going off to walk or run I can feel the wind brushing my skin, listen to the wind, birds, or whatever sound I can hear and just simply be more in the moment.
Seeing Panda’s inability to find joy in the present moment, Grand Master Oogway says, “You are too concerned with what was and what will be. Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called present.”
Be Here Now
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