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Urgent & Present

For years one of the early assignments in our leadership class was the eulogy exercise in which students were tasked with writing their own eulogy. While it creeped most of them out, they all did it and their reflections following its completion surprised even themselves. 

Of course, they had never thought about dying, at least not to the extent of what was going to be said at their funeral. But, its reality does offer some clarity that’s unattainable through any other path. The most significant being the acceptance that they don’t have forever. If there’s things they want to do, they better start getting to them before it’s too late. As they wrestle with this, they quickly realize the only way to capitalize on those special moments they’ve dreamed of is to be present in them. 

Steve Jobs may be the best example. In regards to gaining this perspective Jobs was quoted saying, “Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life, because almost everything - all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important."  In Jobs' famous 2005 Stanford commencement speech, delivered two years after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Jobs added "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most importantly, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition."

Jobs had clarity on something most of us struggle to grasp, urgency and presence aren't opposites. They're partners. Being urgently aware that your time is limited doesn't mean you can't be fully present in the time you have. In fact, it's the awareness of limitation that makes presence possible, because it strips away everything that doesn't truly matter.

Why Should We Care?

How do we hold the tension between urgency and presence? It’s an important one. Most of us simply bounce between the two. We either live with such urgency that we're never truly present or we're so focused on being present and mindful that we lose the healthy sense of urgency that creates momentum and prevents procrastination. We tell ourselves we're "being present" when we're actually just avoiding what we know we need to do.

Bishop Rosie O'Neal's definition of procrastination as "the arrogant assumption that God owes you another opportunity for what you already had time to do" reminds us that procrastination isn't just poor time management, it's an issue of the soul. When we put off what we know we should do today, we're operating from a place of assumed entitlement to tomorrow. We're acting as if time is guaranteed, as if opportunities are unlimited, as if this moment doesn't really matter because there will always be another one. The opportunity in front of you right now is a gift, not a right. Treating it casually, assuming you'll get another chance, is not just inefficient. It's presumptuous. It's living as if you have more control over time than you actually do.

The leaders who create lasting impact are those who have learned to be both urgent and present simultaneously. They understand that every conversation matters. And not in some abstract, philosophical way, but in the concrete reality that this conversation with this person at this moment may be the only chance to say what needs to be said. That the opportunity to influence someone's life or direction is time-sensitive and unrepeatable. But, they also don't live in frantic anxiety about the future, constantly rushing, never satisfied, always focused on what's next. They're fully engaged in the work of this day, this conversation, because they understand that presence is how urgency expresses itself most powerfully. You can't be urgently impactful if you're not present enough to see what this moment actually requires from you.

REAL TALK - Action Steps
Living with both urgency and presence requires intentional practices that keep you anchored in reality. Time is limited, this moment matters. Here are a few ideas to start you down the path:

• Consider Death Regularly 
  
  • Don't just reflect on it theoretically and rush past it. Actually pause. Let yourself sit with the possibility of today being your last day or not knowing when your last day will be. As morbid as it sounds, it’s one of the surest ways to make the most of the time you have left. 
    

• Consider Expiration Dates
  
  • Start actively noticing when opportunities have natural shelf lives. That difficult conversation with a team member about their performance? The opportunity for the conversation doesn’t last forever. The window for having it productively is closing every single day you wait. 
    

• Consider The Moment
  
  • Counter procrastination not by doing more things faster or cramming more into your calendar, but by doing the right things with complete, undivided presence. Before starting any significant task or conversation, ask yourself what the moment needs from you. Then give that moment, that person, that task everything you have before allowing yourself to think about what comes next. 
    

Anxiety assumes today doesn't matter enough. That we need to rush past this moment to get to the next one. But, if we listen, our wisdom will whisper that today is all we truly have, and it’s always just enough. 

Checkout Surrender the Outcome on Amazon and order The Score That Matters with Ryan Hawk & Brook Cupps. The latest blog from Blue Collar Grit can be found here!