I actually don’t have “shower moments” in the shower. You know- the ones where great insights come to you, and everything becomes clear. I have those moments running. Being as kinesthetic-visual (with a preference for horizons and tree-gazing) as I am, running is my very best way to synthesize, get perspective, work through something, or get a much needed connection I’ve been noodling over. Runs like this morning- a brief 25 minutes on a sunny Saturday- are ideal for making sense and learning out of the week or, in this case getting clarity on a single piece of the week I needed to resolve. While running isn’t for everyone, it’s pretty critical to know your most reliable, effective way to get there, and make it part of your routine.
Take a look at your patterns and what things you do to find that clarity on your own. While I’m a big fan of talking with others to work through things (hello- my career), I think it’s clutch to have your own reflective way to get there, too. Great leaders, performers, athletes and practitioners of all kinds keep honing their talents and skills with self-awareness, self-insights and change- otherwise known as personal learning. While I absolutely subscribe to the imperative for mastery of needing to surround ourselves with great coaches and those who ask more of us than we do of ourselves, I think that only works best if we can also get to the best insights on our own, regularly. That’s best done when you create a space/practice in which it can occur.
I know it’s been a good run when I actually forget that I’m running. When I’ve been so deep in thought that I look around and seem to have skipped a few blocks of my route. Today was one of those, and as a result I’m much clearer on a challenge I’ve been working on all week.
That said, I think I’ll go have my version of a shower moment- a time to let the brain turn off, let the water block out the world, rinse out residual thoughts for a few minutes, and reset. We all need practices in which both these things can occur.
What are yours?
©SarahSinger&Co. 2012