Showing up and being Present

6 Steps to Showing up and being Present

Have you ever found yourself contemplating whether or not you would attend an event, a family function or maybe an activity you have never done before?  I often get a nervous stomach when attending a networking event for the first time.  I wonder is there going to be anyone there I know.  What will I do?  What will I say?  Will I make a fool of myself?

Here are some important things to remember:

1. Smile.  No matter what you are doing, put a smile on your face.  It takes more energy to frown then it does to smile.  Frowning uses 43 muscles while smiling only uses 17. I don’t know about you but I feel so much better when I am smiling.  Plus smiling is contagious; when you smile someone is bound to smile back at you.
2. Positive attitude.  Having a positive attitude in whatever you do is important and the outcomes are always so much better.  If you walk around thinking things are going to be bad all the time chances are they will be.  Why? because that is what you are attracting.  Stay upbeat loving life and people will want to know what your secret for life is.  Even the negative people will want what you got.
3. Take a risk.  Try attending or volunteering for something totally out of the box.  Maybe it’s something you always wanted to do or maybe it’s something you never thought you would do.  Take a chance.  You never know what will happen.  You might end up meeting someone you always wanted to meet or find a passion inside you never thought was there.
4. Make a decision to show up.  A lot of times we can except invitations and even put it on our calendar to do, but when the time comes we do a good job of talking ourselves right out of going.  Make a promise to yourself to go.  Don’t let yourself down by talking yourself out of going.  Even when you feel like you are just too tired to go and can’t muscle up the energy.  Just go!
5. Be present.  What does that mean?  It means no matter what the situation is you will be present.  Mind, body and soul.  Be there.  Listen and participate.  Sometimes taking a risk means being open to the possibility you will not like the event or task at hand.  This is ok.  But don’t take it out on those around you.  Stay present in the situation and move through it.  With a smile of course and the positive attitude.  This too will pass and when you look back you might just realize you learned a lot from that situation.  Not only that you can adapt, but you can find the good in the “not so pleasant”.
6. Take time to reflect.  Did I just do that?  Did I really get through?  What did I learn?  Take the time to think about the people you met, what you did, and how it made you feel.  Not everything is going to be a touchy feel good type of risk.  If it wasn’t something you liked, well you won’t do it again.  At least you can say you gave it a try.  And maybe, just maybe, there was someone who made a difference (if only a tiny bit).  A person or a situation that made you think a little differently about your life and the world around you.

Maybe God will show up, you never know.  It’s in these moments when we most challenge ourselves we get to see what others are made of.  We get to see what we are made of.  It’s never hurts our lives to see a little bit of God’s Grace.

Luv, luv,

Julie