Checking in
Describe your pain, the doctor said.
Burning, Shooting. Stabbing. And, burning again. Oh, and stabbing again.
Part of becoming more mindful is awareness of physical sensations. This might be fullness/hunger, wanting, liking, not liking, tension, anxiety (that feeling in the pit of the stomach that something not good is coming), or pain. Other examples are tightness in the facial muscles, neck, back, shoulders or head. There are also emotional sensations we should check in for. Thongs like the anxety we mentioned earlier. Other examples are fatigue, depression, guilt, sadness, and anger.
But, as much as we might think checking in has to do with negative sensations, it’s a mistake to limit it to the negative. It also has to do with positive sensations: looseness, freedom, attention, flow, awe, kindness, and gratitude. Each one of these has identified and specific variants. As an example of a positive sensation, after completing a stressful situation, we might feel like a enormous weight was taken off. In our modern society, we would blow right past that sensation. That would be a big mistake! We should learn to savor it!
Yesterday morning, after I woke up, I didn’t need to officially check in with my body (as important as that is to do): my body made it’s voice known the moment I got out of bed. I hurt. Sorenoess from arthritis and burning/stabbing from sciatica. A BIG OUCH! It’s North Texas so my allergies were alive, too.
But, Cassie, my dog, wanted nothing less than a thorough walk. So we walked.
About three-quarters of the way through, I checked in with my body again. My pain was substantially less. I’m not asking for gone. I’m hoping for less. And, I was listening to a podcast and learned something new. I arrived home in a substantially happier mood than when I left!
Two observations stood out for me:
- Checking in is good. Checking in regularly is better. Making a habit of checking in is esssential.
- I’m not sure who said it, but as a general principle, motion is lotion. Get up often from our chairs and walk.
One final note: any management book worth buying is going to stress the importance of rounding on your employees. If your management book doesn’t mention rounding, throw it back. If you want your employees to care about your wishes, you better care about their’s.
Not coincidentally, another synonym for rounding is checking in. The same principle applies to our body as it does to our employees: blindness to either one is a recipe for a slow erosion of health and strength.