7 Strategies for Being More Conscious
Who else wants to leave this place where accomplishment is having a profile on every imaginable social networking site?
Who wants respite from connecting with all your contacts every minute of every day?
Who wants more than the accomplishments of an empty inbox and completed checklist of social media interaction tactics.
As busy as we all are, as fatigued as we’ve become It’s time to let this be the year of conscious sharing and conscious consumption. Great idea, but how do you get there from here. Here are:
7 Strategies for Being More Conscious (learned from people I admire)
1. FOCUS ON ONE THING
A yogi friend shared her idea of “shower yoga”. Performing yoga moves while you’re washing (can’t imaging downward facing dog) defeats the purpose. Isn’t the point of yoga focus on inner self and consciousness. Even if you don’t believe in the whole “Power of Now” thing, try making the task at hand the only task. I struggle with this one, but when I can do it, the outcome is powerful in the result and in the experience.
2. SHORTER EMAILS
Tim Moore shared “The Three Sentence Email” and already I felt a load lifted. No more need to go back and forth ad nauseum with teams or indiviuduals on a topic. Emails are not for conversations. If you can’t say it in 3 sentences, pick up the phone and have a conversation.
3. INTERACT WITH AWARE PEOPLE
I get my hair done by a wonderfully aware, conscious person. Nicole Eckman always makes me feel more balanced. When we speak her energy allows me to follow my inclination to be more in the now. Interacting with aware conscious people is probably the easiest way to be more conscious.
4. MAKE TIME FOR WRITTEN LETTERS & NOTES
One of my clients, Samantha Irwin, sends me a note everytime we reach a milestone, have a big success, delicious supper club, any worthwhile milestone gets marked this way. Her consciousness and focus is admirable and I’m always surprised at how much more impact that has than an email with the same message.
5. KNOW WHEN NOT TO TAKE THE SHORT CUT
My sister Stefanie is the most thoughtful gift-giver. Her gifts are an observation of who you are and what’s important to you. She doesn’t take short cuts to gifts (here’s this because I’m obligated to give) she shares something personal, funny or touching.
One of my favorite holiday gifts from her was a pink flask with my initials (homage to Jim Gaffigan, “Here’s a flask, you look like a drunk on the go”.) It’s perfect for taking peppermint schnapps to the mountain to add to your hot cocoa, but it’s not meant to substitute for the finer efforts of creating the perfect manhattan or hand-stuffing pancetta and blue cheese in an olive for dirty vodka martinis.
6. NOT EVERY INSULT NEEDS A RESPONSE
Not that I admire The Sopranos in the big scope of things, but this is a great philosophy. Just because you’ve been slighted, doesn’t mean your energy has to go to retaliation. This is one of the hardest, yet it’s the most important because a response to an insult can’t be taken back. Being conscious about how you’ll feel in the future about your response to an insult can help manage the need to respond to every slight.
7. WRITE AND SPEAK YOUR INTENTIONS
This is the year I will embrace being more conscious by writing and speaking my intentions, starting with the post;)
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