I had just checked into the Sky Club in the Tampa Airport. I found a seat at a table and immediately pulled out my computer. I had just enjoyed 24 hours of successful business calls and needed to record all the call reports from my visits. As I was getting settled in for my 2-hour layover, I began to notice something. The bar stools were full, people were lined up at the lunch buffet, others were sitting in lounge chairs with earphones plugged on and everything felt solitary. It hit me right between the eyes that what I teach as a nonprofit performance consultant is the power of the pause, the benefit of taking the time to be mindful, the energizing impact of exercise and the resulting benefit of freshness in what one produces. I immediately put away my computer (I could pay $9 and get 2 hours of gogo internet coverage during the flight), placed my carry-on bag and briefcase in the bin and walked down the stairs and into the concourse.
I was going to walk for an hour! I discovered that from gate 74 to gate 65 was exactly one tenth of a mile. I took off. As I walked, I smiled at people and observed them in all states of anxieties, stress and conversations. I noticed old people, big people, small people……some reading, others napping, some chasing after children, many lined up at Starbucks and even some in what looked like cages…smoking.
Twenty times I walked between gate 74 and 65. As the faces kept changing as flights came in and out, I began having a realization that kept getting stronger and stronger. I am performing at a higher level than most everyone else in this airport. I had pulled away from my addiction to technology….a real “pausing” event. I was improving my body, clearing my mind, and I was performing at a high level. One hour and two miles later I walked back into the SkyClub. I told the Delta representative that I had a piece of trivia for her and a suggestion. The trivia was the distance between gates 74 and 65. The proposal was to have a sign made to put on the check-in counter for the SkyClub that says, “ Improve your mindset, walk a mile between 74 and 65 while you wait for your next flight!”
I doubt if that would ever happen, but this I know…..I’m stronger, clearer and more confident than ever, because I performed at a high level. And what we know at Crouch & Associates is that confidence drives performance!!!!
Keep Driving Forward!
