Staying Present

One Idea

Throw a bucket of water at a rock once, and it does nothing. Drip drops of water on a rock daily, and it creates a hole in the rock.

Coaches from all sports have long preached the significance of playing one game at a time–one play at a time, one pitch at a time, one stroke at a time, etc. There’s a reason for this message’s pervasiveness: the point of power always lives in the present moment.

Early in his career, Tiger Woods worked with a hypnotist to help him place his mind in the “now.” Alex Rodriguez worked with sports psychologists throughout his career concluding, “My only goal is to play one entire game in the present.” And Emily Dickinson wrote, “Forever is composed of nows.”

To live in the present moment is to think and see clearly. It’s an orientation to the task at hand over everything else. Where living in the past gives way to anger, disappointment, and regret–and living in the future leads to pressure, anxiety, and fear–living in the present yields action.

The drop of water doesn’t concern itself with the drop before or after it. It doesn’t get caught up in accomplishment, failure, or expectation. It only drops. And drops. And drops. The wisdom of the drop of water is this: there is no power in the past or the future, only in the present moment.

The ultimate in mental discipline is an ability to live in the present. It’s the only place anything ever happens. It’s also the one place few of us ever live. 

Two Quotes

“You create a great future by creating a great present." - Eckhart Tolle

"Knowledge isn’t power. Knowledge is potential power. Execution of knowledge in this moment is power." – Dale Carnegie

Three Takeaways

1. Emotions make great servants but are terrible masters. Anger, disappointment, regret, pressure, anxiety, and fear all have their place. They reveal unrealized expectations, results, and progress. But they’re also states of being that leave us paralyzed. To move forward, at some point, we must let go. We must focus on the task at hand, and take new action.

2. Every drop counts. John Wooden famously used one practice every season to teach his players how to put on socks and shoes before a game. He said, “This matters. It’s the little details that make the big things come about.”

3. Dis-traction is the opposite of traction. To place your attention anywhere other than the present moment is to lose your grip. It’s to give up your ability to keep moving forward.