Today I'd like to share a few thoughts that occurred to me during a walk this week. They relate to paying attention and the value of what I call mental traction. In each case, there is a helpful lesson for anyone looking to enhance the quality of their work, without extra effort.

An easier way to do things well

It's January and bitterly cold and slippery here in Minnesota. Even the most diligent and careful step can slip away from you if you aren't extra cautious. Add to the mix an energetic dog (or in my case - two!) pulling on a leash and you have a very precarious situation.

Good news, I made it through a week of outdoor walks without a single slip (hooray!), and chalk that up to actually paying attention to the act of walking and not slipping into daydream mode or podcast absorption mode while venturing out. I've been embracing the habit of leaving my earbuds and phone at home to good effect.

It's not lost on me just how much better I do things when I pay attention. I mean, walking is quite the achievement and result of billions of years of evolution. If something so ingrained into human nature gets better through the simple act of focus, I wonder what else can improve by just putting more attention on the act of doing it? Is there even any limit to how much better we can become at something through this technique-less technique?

It's also helpful that paying attention is a natural thing to do, and logically takes less energy than operating in a distracted and multi-tasking state all the time (even if it feels hard to do in the moment!). While at first, it seems to take more effort to break the habit of distraction, I find that it frees up a tremendous amount of energy to do things - one at a time - with full presence of mind.

The value of mental traction

This brings to mind a story from my childhood. I remember our elementary school gym teacher busting out the tug-of-war rope every now and then. It was a blast. He had a fun time mixing teams up so everyone had a chance to be on the winning side (and the losing side). You'd have the athletes vs the bookworms, the guys vs the girls, the tall kids vs the short kids, the youngest vs the oldest, etc. It was a riot and a great workout!

One day we strolled into class and saw that the gym floors had been freshly waxed and polished to a gleaming shine. It was rope pull time (yes!) and I recall the teacher having us start with a couple of scrawny kids lined up against twice as many bigger kids on the other side of a rope. The rest of us just watched.

"Who do you think is going to win?" our teacher asked.

"I think it's pretty obvious! It's not a fair fight!" " we replied.

Nobody thought the scrawny kids had a chance. Then, our teacher threw a curveball, asking the big kids to kick off their shoes, leaving them to tug the rope in just their socks. He blew the whistle and the socked kids just slid across the floor like leaves blowing in the wind. They were no match for the shoe-clad scrawny kids!

This is sort of like when you show up to anything with a present and fully engaged mind (vs a distracted and reactive mind). Mental traction, like in a game of tug-of-war, is the difference between slipping and sliding all over and actually being able to make progress and be a force for change in whatever is being done.

Give your mind a chance

Most people are metaphorically slipping and sliding all over the place in their minds when they are working. Fifteen tabs in their web browser, pinging phones and non-stop environmental interruptions are creating a noisy experience where the mind can struggle to get a firm grip - traction - on whatever problem of the day is being faced.

If you can get on board with the notion that your attention is your most valuable resource, and connect to the fact that presence gives you solid footing from which to engage in your world effectively, it will start to make logical sense for you to wield your attention wisely, and not scatter it away in the wind.

As a bonus, a mind that pays attention to the moment will settle itself faster (if it is noisy) and be more tuned into the emergence of insights (along with fresh and helpful thinking) that inevitably arise in a quiet mind.

Reflect

As you navigate your own slippery paths, whether literal or metaphorical, I invite you to consider:

How might your work-life transform if you gave more attention to the act of attention itself? Could this be the key to not just doing things well, but excelling with effortless grace?

Please leave a comment below to let me know what you discover.