The Power of Being Present

When I was in high school, my girlfriend’s father was best friends with a guy named Doug Collins. Doug was the head coach of the Chicago Bulls during Michael Jordan’s early years, and the two remained close friends.

I usually refrained from asking Doug questions about his career and all the cool people he got to meet, but one day during a quite moment, I asked him a question “What made Michael Jordan so great?”

I expected him to talk about Michael’s incredible athleticism, his competitiveness, or his relentless desire to win. But his answer caught me off guard.

Doug told me that what made Michael truly special was his ability to be completely present… all the time.

No matter what was happening in his life, no matter what had happened earlier in the game, Michael had an extraordinary ability to be right where he was. Completely engaged in whatever was in front of him. And that same intensity wasn’t reserved for basketball. He brought it to his friendships, his relationships, and his business pursuits. Whatever he was doing, he was there.

I’ve never forgotten Doug’s answer.

I believe one of the greatest challenges we face today is our inability to live in the moment. We have more conveniences, more opportunities, and more access to information than any generation before us. Yet we also struggle with anxiety and emotional distress more than any other time in our history…and its not even close. I can’t help but wonder how much of that suffering comes from our inability to simply be where we are. Think about it.

So much of the suffering we experience originates between our very own ears. Other than the last 200 years or so, we were too busy trying to survive to get caught up in the past and future. There wasn’t time to over-think!

But flash forward to today. We replay yesterday’s conversations. We worry about tomorrow’s problems. We jump on social media and begin comparing our lives to others. We create entire stories in our minds about things that haven’t even happened, nor likely ever will.

Ironically, while we’re more connected to the world today, we’ve become increasingly disconnected from the moments right in front of us.

Being present is a discipline. It requires us to stop trying to control tomorrow and stop reliving yesterday. It takes practice. We certainly need to learn from the past and prepare for the future, but we can only live in the present.

Someday, we’ll look back and realize that the moments we wish we could revisit weren’t necessarily the big accomplishments or celebrations. They’ll be the ordinary ones. A conversation with a friend. A quiet morning with someone we love. A run as the sun comes up. And we’ll wish we’d been just a little more present for them.

So put the phone down. Look people in the eyes. Listen a little more closely. Smell the roses.

Life isn’t waiting for us somewhere down the road. It’s happening right now. Don’t miss it this week.

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