Category / mindfulness

by Nathan Coumbe

Life’s Too Short

Seth Godin’s blog this morning contained a statement that seemed to scream at me:

“If you’re simply speeding things up because you are in a hurry to get through it, it might be better to not do it at all.”

—Seth Godin, “Faster! Faster?”, 5/31/2021

If you’re rushing through something because you feel obligated to finish it, just quit!

No one says you HAVE to finish that book. Or that podcast. Or that online course.

We don’t have enough time to do everything we think we should do. We don’t even have enough time to do everything we want to do.

We have to pick and choose wisely so we get the most out of life we can. And if that means you’re three minutes into a podcast and lose interest, just turn it off. (Essentialism is a great book to help you make these decisions.)

My late uncle Alan thought the Compact Disk (CD) was the greatest invention in history, so much better than the cassette player.

When asked why, he said simply, “Life’s too short to waste on a bad song.”

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by Nathan Coumbe

Did You Do Something Good Today?

“Never be entirely idle; but either be reading, or writing, or praying, or meditating, or endeavoring something for the public good.”

—Thomas à Kempis

What are you doing right now? Okay, you’re reading this blog post – bad question to ask.

What have you done today? What are you planning on doing today?

Have you written anything? Have you read a good book (or blog post?) 

Have you developed your self-awareness? Or your ability to empathize with people who are different from you? 

Have you done something for the good of another? 

Have you performed any selfless act of service?

Too many of us end each day with a resounding “no” to all these questions. Instead, our answer to the question, “What have you done today?” is usually something like this: “I went to work, came home, and binge-watched Netflix until I passed out.”

Change How You View Your Work

Perhaps you really did nothing other than work today. Perhaps it really had no other benefit than growing your checking account. 

Or perhaps you should reevaluate how you spend the time you are not at work, so that you do create something, learn something new, or serve another person. Or perhaps you should change the way you view your work – I’m betting you did something today that benefitted someone. Reflect on that. 

Too often, we use work, podcasts, and the always-available streaming services to block ourselves from creating our art. We chalk it up to a lack of time. 

But where is your time going? We all have the same 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week. Unless we are doing shift work or have a newborn at home, we have time to create good for the world. 

I challenge you to answer one question every night before you go to sleep: “Did I do something good today?”

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by Nathan Coumbe

What Has 2020 Shown You?

2020 sucks. That doesn’t need to be said anymore. But a post from a gentleman whom I follow on LinkedIn made me rather introspective this morning. Here was my response to his post.

2020 showed me that life was more uncertain and fragile than I’d ever realized. I lost two of my closest relatives. My family suffered unimaginable heartache.

I discovered I’d been living life out of fear, looking at everything through a lens of safety. So I started asking myself, “if I died tomorrow, would I be satisfied with what I’ve accomplished? Would I be okay with how I left things for my wife and family?”

With that mindset, I’ve approached my days differently, dancing with fear and taking action in the face of it. Making definite choices rather than hesitating or hedging my bets.

In short, I’m bolder.

As I’ve learned from Zig Ziglar, if I fail I learn. If I learn, I grow. If I grow, I succeed.

What about you? What has 2020 shown you? Comment below.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Why Do We Say “You’re Welcome”?

When you think about it for any length of time at all, it’s utter nonsense.

“Thank you,” says your customer.

“You’re welcome,” you reply.

You’re welcome….to what? You’re welcome to ask for help again in the future? You’re welcome to more of the same?

Why aren’t people shouting, “What am I welcome to?!”

There are so many options available to us other than an automatic “You’re welcome.” The phrase is automatic and useless. I’ve always wondered why we use it.

We can say, “It was my pleasure,” implying that you genuinely enjoyed helping them. Chick-fil-A’s employees are getting it right. (And yes, I realize it’s engrained in them and automatic, much like “You’re welcome.” It may not actually be their pleasure to help me. That’s a subject for a different post.)

Or my favorite: “I’m happy to help.” When I say it, I genuinely mean it. And by saying it, I actually feel happy that I helped that person.

It’s time to do away with this nonsensical phrase and replace it with something genuine and meaningful.

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by Nathan Coumbe

Artists Pay Attention. Are You an Artist?

What does an artist do? What makes her an artist? It’s simple: she pays attention.

I think I’ve been overwhelming myself with ideas, people, information, podcasts, audiobooks— too many different inputs to count. If we want to be creative, we have to shut out the noise, turn off the devices, and start paying attention to the world around us.

Paying attention might be something as simple as going for a walk outside. Head to the park, and be fully present in the moment. 

Paying attention means smiling at the people that walk past you and watching their entire demeanor change. They walk a little taller; they smile back; they pick up their pace. A smile generates energy.

Pay attention when you walk past two women speaking to each other in Spanish. What happens when you say in their native tongue, “Hello! How are you?” They chuckle, both pleased with your willingness to try and humored by your pained accent. 

Paying attention is noticing the difference in sound a few dozen yards can make. One side of a park is dead quiet, while the other—less than a football field’s length away and located close to a busy road—is roaring with the cacophony of motorcycles and sports cars. 

When you pay attention over a few weeks’ time, you notice the subtle change in attire worn by those walking around you as social and health issues become more prevalent. 

Perhaps you’ll notice two small children, obviously strangers and of wildly different cultures, run towards each other on the playground to touch hands, embrace, and play together as if they weren’t the least bit different. Afterwards, you might realize that it’s all invented, the differences we’ve created that cause such terrible strife in our world. 

If you listen closely, you’ll notice the gurgling, deep-throated rumbling of a large vehicle puttering past behind you. You’ll hear the sounds of leaves underfoot and voices across the fence. 

So this is what it’s like to pay attention. This is what we miss with our headphones in and our phones out, heads down and eyes fixed, always distracted and never present. 

We miss the face of a Star Wars alien created by a fortuitous arrangement of knots on a pine tree. 

We miss the sheer exuberance of a child as she first lays eyes on the playground and sprints past. We miss her zigging and zagging and the father’s apology for her child’s excitement. Why does Dad feels guilty? Why should he apologize for his child doing exactly what a child should do?

This is what we miss when we fail to pay attention.

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