My goal this week is to be a lion. Wherever I am this week I will do my best lion impersonation. Don't worry, I will not be stalking around on all fours or roaring at unsuspecting visitors! My hope is to channel the focus of a lion at school. Have you ever watched lions up close? I have. Not on safari on the Serengeti, but I watch them all the time on TV. From Animal Planet, to Amazon, to viral videos shared on YouTube I am a fan of these fierce felines. I hope that I am successful in being just like them this week.
Lions have the most amazing ability to be totally engulfed with whatever they are doing. When hunting, all their senses are focused on their prey. Their ears are tuned for the softest sound. Their eyes keen to slightest of movements. They are deciding which water buffalo is weakest. When to make their move? When sleeping they do not move. They sleep with their whole beings. Seemingly nothing could disturb them. Not a playful cub or 1,000 annoying flies. They can sleep on command and with no restlessness. No multitasking whatsoever. Regardless of what they are doing they are 100% invested.
I listened to a Ted Talk a few months ago given by a gentleman named Boyd Varty. He is a South African conservationist who has invested countless hours observing animals in their natural habitat. The talk highlights his experiences with animals of the Savannah and a lesson filled encounter he had as a youth with Nelson Mandela. The part of his talk that made the biggest impression on me however was when he talked about lions. He spoke of them being totally in the moment, being in rhythm with all that is around them. My favorite line of the talk was that lions are " always where they are." At the bottom of the blog I have left a link to his Ted Talk. I highly recommend taking the time to check it out.
Anyway, I digress. This post is supposed to be on the importance of focusing. This week I aim to operate with the focus of a lion. If someone enters my office I will stop reading email (or whatever task I am involved in)and give them my complete attention. I will tune out other thoughts. I will ignore my phone buzzing. I will give everyone and every task my total attention. While on bus duty, I will be completely there for the students. Wishing them a good day, reminding them to make good decisions, and to offer high fives. I will make prioritized to-do-lists. I will ignore distractions and be as "in the moment" as possible.
I believe we can all be in the moment more. I had to pry my iPhone out of my hand, ignore my fantasy football score, and tune-out Once Upon A Time streaming on Netflix (shout out to my awesome wife, Meagan) in order to muster the attention needed to type this blog post. Okay, I exaggerate a little, but it is a goal of mine to increase my ability to focus on a lone task. I want to focus on a task, complete it well, and move on the next one. I think we are not being honest with ourselves when we claim to effectively multi-task. If you are working on multiple tasks at once, one of them is given less attention than the other. This lack of attention surely results in work that is less than our best and our performance suffers. When focused, I am more likely to act with intention and clarity. I am more likely to be the best version of my self possible. Wish me luck and be where you are.
Boyd Varty Ted Talk
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