“Your daily life is your temple and your religion. Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.” ~Kahlil Gibran
Be Here Now
Do you feel fully present and engaged in the way you live your life? Do you immerse yourself in the moment or do you strive and struggle as you negotiate the distractions of our modern world? It’s easy to have blind spots regarding how you are showing up to life when you are consistently bombarded with distractions, commitments, and personal preoccupations, isn’t it?
Your life is happening in the NOW, yet the present moment is often squandered by thinking about what has happened in the past or may happen in the future. When you are ‘off somewhere else’ people notice. Have you found yourself in conversations in which you’re so concerned about what you are going to say next, that you don’t even hear what the other person is saying?
A lack of engagement sends the message that you may not care, are not interested, are too busy, or that the other person does not matter to you. Even though this is rarely your intention, it can happen when you’re not being mindful and deliberate to connect in the moment.
In their New York Times Bestseller, “The Power of Full Engagement,” Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz state that, “To be fully engaged, we must be physically energized, emotionally connected, mentally focused and spiritually aligned with a purpose beyond our immediate self-interest.”
Being 100% in the moment and focusing on the person you’re with is one of the finest compliments you can offer. One of the most respectful and considerate things you can do for another is to truly be with them.
Employee Engagement
“Employee Engagement” has become a very hot topic in recent years. The escalating statistics for disengagement are alarming. In 2015, the Gallup Polls’ “The State of the American Workforce” survey found that only 32.5% of the US Workforce are engaged and 54% would considering leaving their companies if they could receive a 20% raise elsewhere. Disengagement not only lowers performance, morale, and productivity, but it’s costing employers billions of dollars a year.
Why is this disengagement epidemic becoming the new norm? A few reasons I have witnessed in speaking with companies across the country include:
- information overload
- distractions
- stress/overwhelm
- apathy/detachment
- short attention spans
- fear, worry, anxiety
- rapidly changing technology
- entitlement
- poor leadership
- preoccupation
- social media
- interruptions
- multi-tasking
- budget cuts
- exhaustion
- boredom
- conflict
These challenges not only create disengagement at work, but we are seeing it happen in relationships and personal interactions.
Full and present engagement is a valuable commodity! Wikipedia describes an “engaged employee” as “one who is fully absorbed by and enthusiastic about their work.” And as a result, “they take positive action to further the organization’s reputation and interests.”
When you are fully present and engaged in your workplace, you will demonstrate that you care about the success of your organization, are a team player, have a can-do attitude, and will go the extra mile to fulfill and exceed expectations. These qualities make a great impression on your boss, your teams, and your customers. You will be more respected, noticed and appreciated in the process. As your own ‘CEO of Self,’ projecting this positive level of engagement furthers your own personal reputation and interests for healthy communication, networking and positive first impressions.
11 Ways to Be More Engaged
- Care about others.
- Be 100% in the moment.
- Keep focus on the person you are serving.
- Make an effort to get involved, engaged and interactive.
- Show interest in what matters to other people by listening, acknowledging, and responding.
- Arrive in the moment anticipating creating a valuable interaction for yourself and others.
- Move towards the things that inspire you and provide a sense of joy and connection.
- Reconnect with the essence of yourself and be grounded in that essential relationship.
- Maintain eye contact and deliver the non-verbal cues that you are fully with them.
- Limit distractions— close the door, silence your phone, hold calls, put tasks aside, etc.
- Show up to the moment being your best and giving our best.
This article is an excerpt from Susan Young’s soon-to-be-released book, “The Art of First Impressions for Positive Impact…How To Shine Bright & Stand Apart from the Crowd.” Please visit http://www.artoffirstimpressions.com/ to learn more and stay up to date for release.
