Wash the Dishes to Wash the Dishes - A Lesson in Mindfulness
When I was a kid, I always had to wash the dishes. I hated it, much more than any other chore (although I never really enjoyed chores much).
In fact, I hated it so much that when I first got to live truly, truly alone--with a sink and my own dishes--I once left those dishes in the sink and woke up to bugs everywhere. Oof. Lesson learned.
On that day, I decided to wash the dishes every single night without fail, and have done so ever since.
I thought I had won the war!
But I noticed that sometimes I wasn't doing such a great job. I'd go to put the dishes away and have to return a dirty fork to the sink. I thought it was because my eyesight was slipping.
A little bit of intentionality
Mindfulness is a big thing right now. It's trendy, and sometimes part of the Wellness Industrial Complex, but the foundations of it are quite powerful (even if you suck at meditating, like I do).
I was listening to an audiobook or a podcast the other day and when I tuned in to what was being said, the speaker was saying that there were two reasons to wash the dishes.
1. To make the dishes clean.
2. To wash the dishes.
Naruhodo ne. A little bit of intentionality can go a long way in completely reframing your experience of the event.
So why am I bringing this up?
I am not actually doing what I am doing
Well, to be honest, there are some tasks in my day to day work that I don't particularly enjoy. Let's say I don't look forward to. I am sure you have some of the same. But the reason that I don't enjoy (making presentations) isn't because I don't enjoy (making presentations).
What?
I mean, I look at the idea of (making presentations) before I do it and feel some kind of fear or boredom or dread. But that is before I do it.
Maybe I'm uncomfortable because I'm shy, I have to put a lot of effort into making my voice loud enough to hear, I'm afraid of seeming foolish. That's thinking about (making presentations), not actually (making presentations).
While (making presentations), I might think to myself, 'I don't really like this'.
If I am thinking that, however, I am not actually focused on (making a presentation). I am looking forward to finishing so that I can do something in the future that I think I might enjoy more.
In reality, that means I am not actually doing what I am doing.
That's washing the dishes to get them clean.
But, if I stand up in front of a group of people and really try to communicate a message, really try to get them to laugh and engage, then I find that I do enjoy (making presentations)--or at least find them interesting. And I do a much better job at executing it.
Washing the dishes to wash the dishes.
It comes from the father of Mindfulness.
Try for yourself
I encourage each and every one of you to think about the tasks you "dislike" in your daily work. Pick one and swap it out with the words in parentheses.
Examine that task for a moment. Why do you dislike it? Try putting your honest answers where the words in italics are.
What do you find?
Call someone to communicate with them, not just to get through the call. You have genuinely important news for them. Ask your teammates about the roles and candidates they are working with to learn more about what they are working on.
Actually do what you are doing.
Wash the dishes to wash the dishes. They will get clean.