Breathe

And do the next right thing

I went and upgraded my phone last week. After years of being on Android, I moved back to an iPhone for a number of reasons. One of them was some of the reviews I’d been reading about the latest Apple Watch. As someone who has anxiety and depression, and a family history of heart problems, I was intrigued by some of the health monitoring features.

So, I’m now paying for a phone and a watch on my monthly bill. In my defense, it is a reward to myself for landing a great freelance gig that will pay for the watch and the phone in a couple months of work.

I’ve only had it for a week, and am still learning all of the fun things I can do with it…at least when I’m not panicking about dropping it or being clumsy and falling on top of it. I don’t know that it will ever save my life or catch a heart attack, or be anything more than a cool gadget, but I do know that it has already saved my sanity.

Every so often, my watch vibrates and reminds me to take a mindful minute to focus on my breathing. I’m not quite sure what it is that prompts it, whether it is on a timer, or if it has to do with my heart rate (which the watch apparently checks fairly regularly). Apparently there’s some type of algorithm that decides when to send me the notifications.

As someone who works in an environment that is less stressful than some and more stressful than many, there are times when I can find myself getting lost in being busy. In addition to my full-time job, as well as the freelance work I mentioned above, I’m also trying to start an ecommerce store so I can have multiple lines of income.

As you can imagine, that’s a lot of balls in the air at any one time, and I’m regularly trying not to drop them. It’s a lot of fun to juggle, but it can also be stressful. It requires focus and attention to ensure that I’m not missing anything, and if I’m not mindful of my own limitations then it’s easy for me to drop something.

This is where the watch comes in, at least when it comes to my sanity.

By forcing me to take a mindful minute, it allows me to reset my thoughts and actions to ensure that I’m focusing on what’s important, not what is interesting.

I’ve never been a juggler, I don’t have the hand/eye coordination for it, but I’ve spent lots of time watching jugglers. They have to be very much in that particular moment, especially when the objects they’re juggling have the potential to hurt them (chainsaws, machetes, flaming torches — you know: the usual juggling items).

They are focused with laser-like intensity on being in that moment because all it takes is a tiny change to throw off their rhythm. Something comes down where they’re not expecting it, and if they’re not paying attention then that’s when they get hurt.

The reminder to breathe is a reminder for me to focus on the immediate moment, and not what is coming later.

I spent last weekend on a mini family vacation, taking my daughter and wife to meet up with my parents in a nearby city. The five of us went to see Disney’s Frozen 2, which is actually a remarkably good movie. I grew up in the age of direct to VHS Disney sequels, so I love that this is a sequel worth watching on its own!

As the movie reaches its emotional climax, one of the protagonists sings about how the only thing she can do is the next right thing. She can’t see far enough ahead to even figure out where she is on her journey, much less map out how to get where she wants to go.

I realized that this has by and large been my mantra throughout my life.

Do the next right thing.

This is why those mindful minutes are so important to me. It is very easy to get caught up in planning and building for the future. As an employee, freelancer, and entrepreneur, who lives with mental illness, and who is also a husband and father, there is always lots of future to be thinking about.

I’ve never really been good at planning my future, and when I’ve tried to plan my future it hasn’t worked out according to my plans.

When I have been mindful to the moment and made my decision on the needs of the moment and not any sort of plan, then it has generally worked out in my favor.

By stopping to take in the moment, I am able to fully appreciate what is happening and to better understand my immediate location. I’m not thinking about the destination, only that next step.

So, the next time you find yourself juggling three chainsaws and thinking about the future, take a minute to breathe and forget about any plan you may have had. Focus on doing the next right thing, which is hopefully catching that next chainsaw before it catches you.