In-Between the Pages: Eat Slow, Get Focused, Be Present

I had a great breakfast sitting in front of me. My first instinct was to lock in and gobble it all up, washing it down with a great cup of joe. I had to get a move on with my day, time is money they say.

Something was diferent this go around. I paused for some reason. I thought, why the rush? Isn’t that all our frames of mind when sitting down to eat is just to get it done? Just like everything else, we have this itch to get moving onto the next thing. Instead, I was going to slow it WAY down and enjoy each bite. I wasn’t prepared what going from a 20 minute breakfast session was going to teach me compared to today’s hour long breakfast session. I seriously took my time on each and every bite. Here’s what I learned.

First, I eat to fast. It’s not healthy, and I wasn’t letting my body digest the food properly so I’d have the maximum benefit of each bite’s full nutrients. Eating this slow I was able to enjoy and be present for each bite. Each bite brought a different story to my mouth. I started to remember why I out of habit, came to this place to eat my breakfast in the first place. Because I love the food of course! With that reminder, I recalled the first time I tried their food and got to relive that memory which brought significance and a special feeling to my mind. This was a great place to eat and it had special signficance.

Second, it made me be more present with what was happening around me. I noticed as I sat there longer taking my time, not rushing through the food. There was a story unfolding around me I wasn’t aware or participating in. The waitress connected with me more and deeper. I got to learn the story of this pretty amazing human being who does this for a living and connects with so many people everyday. I got to understand the passion this place off the beaten path has, it’s history, and how they treat their customers. I learned from that story. I got see and understand it wasn’t just the food that brought me back every time, it was their customer focus. I also learned, it was both scalable and transferable to my own work.

Third, I found opportunities to build my own personal connections with the people that sat around me. I got them to slow down and chat with me. I got a little bit of their story. I got to contribute to theirs. One of my favorite things to do is make meaningful connections with anyone I can. You never know what you will learn from those experiences of connecting with others. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take right? I get story ideas from those connections, I learn lessons from those connections, and I learned how to be more present with others in a world that increasingly is telling us to be glued to just or technology for all our social needs.

A short take away this morning with a big, big pay off. To recap, bring some focus to the start of your day by slowing down the start of your day. You can do it anywhere you take breakfast. If you’re not a breakfast partaker, than sip that coffee/tea/water with a little more purpose. Enjoy the taste, the surroundings, and why you enjoy it in the first place to keep doing it everyday as one of your many routines.

Hope you enjoyed this. The start to your day is so important, trust me. It will set the stage for the entire day. Make it a great start. Here’s to a great midweek focus on slowing down to speed up!

• Shawn