Welcome aboard to another episode of the daily podcast, where we’re diving deep into seizing the moment and navigating life’s complexities with intentionality. Today, we embark on a journey to explore the transformative potential of acting in the present moment, even amidst the distractions of our modern world. Join me, Jonathan Doyle, as we delve into the art of mastering the present and overcoming tough times with the simple yet profound act of acting right now. So grab a seat, tune in, and let’s embark on this enlightening voyage together.
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Welcome Aboard: Embracing the Present in Life's Challenges
Hello there. Welcome to today’s podcast where we explore the transformative power of embracing the present moment amidst life’s challenges. Join us as we delve into the profound connection between overcoming tough times and seizing the moment.
My friend, Jonathan Doyle, is with you once again. Welcome aboard to the daily podcast, all aboard the daily podcast train. Our destination today is we’re going to talk about really pressing into what’s in front of you. That’s going to make just a little sense. It’ll make sense in a second. Please make sure you have subscribed to this podcast. You can find me on Instagram at @jdoylespeaks. And everything else is on the website: jonathandoyle.co.
Friends, I had the pleasure of having a conversation today with somebody in a senior executive position. Trying to work out a complex question about the allocation of their time and resources. And I want to share with you what kind of information I shared with them, because I think it’s applicable to all of us. What I ended up saying to them was that they needed to do what was right in front of them.
Embracing Present Realities amid Technological Distractions
Let me unpack this for you. I’m going to make it relevant. I have a thesis that it is somewhat endemic in advanced cultures because of the almost voyeuristic nature of technology and media in general, by which I mean, hang on. There you go. Jonathan this is a very long sentence.
The fact that we can see all these other potentialities around us, what I mean is that because of things like social media and media in general, we see all these different lives and people in different situations that our ancestors obviously never saw. For most of human history, when you just got up, you had your life and the immediacy of survival right in front of you. So you just did that.
I think what’s happening for a lot of people now is that there are so many, FOMO, right? Fear of missing out, but we’re presented with so many images, ideas, and possibilities that I think we can end up as a culture being quite restless.
So what I’m trying to suggest to you today, and what I’m talking about more frequently is, pressing into what is actually in front of you. I’ve mentioned it before on the daily podcast: I’ve been reading a book that’s several hundred years old. It was written by Jean Pierre de Caussade. It’s called Abandonment to Divine Providence, and it’s basically saying that. What God wants for you, and again, I know you’re all in a different place spiritually, so you can conceptualize that whoever you want, you could say the universe as some people do, but whatever God wants for you is this what’s actually happening at the moment.
Thriving Through Tough Times: Transforming Adversity into Growth
The way to think about that is, What if something terrible is happening to me? How can they be a loving God if something terrible is happening to me? First, we’ve got to do with mystery because we don’t know the answer to that. Other than that, is it not true that times of difficulty, hardship, and suffering also have the potential to make us better people. And that’s objectively true.
We know that to be the case. Not for everybody, but for many people who face adversity, suffering, and pain, they can actually grow through it. But what if you prove that the life that is in front of you right now is the life that you’re meant to engage with. That’s hard for people because some people go, well and my life is horrible. It’s terrible.
Now it might change and it’s going to change with the decisions you make in the moment. And that’s how life changes, Isn’t it? By the way that we interact with the present moment. So you don’t get to change the future because you’re not there yet. And you can’t really change the past because you go back. So there is a certain truth: they’re not that.
Excellence in Action: Unleashing Your Best Self Today
The life that’s happening for you right now is the life that you must live. What I said to this friend of mine in the coaching context was: You have to do what’s in front of you. Because they were really trying to figure out, should I do this or should I do that? And say, What you got to do is be faithful to what’s right there now and respond to that and bring your very best to that. Bring your very best to that.
And if you give your very best to that over time, then that circumstance will change and develop in important ways. If you half-ass it and bring the worst of yourself to that, then the outcome isn’t going to be great.
So all I’m offering you in this short message today is to look into your life and look at what you’re resisting. What if you’re resisting was actually the path towards the next iteration of growth in your life.
And you want to say, ‘I’ve got to deal with this terrible person at work who’s an office psychopath,’ then I am resisting that. ‘Jonathan, you’re telling me I shouldn’t resist that. I’m telling you that office psychopath is probably going to open up to you internal conversations around self-worth and what you’re prepared to put up with. How you value yourself, what behaviors you are prepared to expect, whether you need to become more assertive, whether you need to respect and care for yourself in a way that you haven’t before, and whether you need to start to set boundaries.
Embracing Life's Complexity: Strategies for Effective Engagement
So even difficult circumstances can be invitations to new levels of growth. Being human is challenging. It’s complex, it’s not straightforward. The longer I live, the more I’m like, ah, it’s actually, there’s a lot going on. There’s very rarely a binary answer. There are some binary answers, but not a lot of them. We’re often dealing with complex paradoxes. It’s very interesting to be human.
So what I have to do today is I want to bring the best to what’s right in front of me, which is right now on this podcast and in this studio. Hopefully, in some tiny way, be a blessing to you, help you, and offer you something that might make your life slightly better. And then I’m going to finish in the studio and then get on to some other work. And then I’m taking one of my daughter’s horses. I’ve got to bring my best to that. I can’t check out, I can’t go and do something else, I need to be present for that. Because, one day, she isn’t going to be horseback riding because she’s going to be older. And one day, maybe I won’t be podcasting. But I am now.
Seize the Moment: Empowering Actions for Immediate Impact
So, my friend, could I invite you to just show up for what’s right in front of you, try to bring your best to that. Because if you give your best to it, you will impact it in interesting and important ways. And things will gradually change as a response to your use of free will and choice in the moment. We’re not robots in an uncaring universe. We are free agents. Who is able to respond to reality. But to do that I’m going to stop avoiding reality. We’ve got to pay attention to what’s in front of us and influence it in the most generous and present ways that we can.
All right, my friends, please go check out the website: jonathandoyle.co. Instagram: @jdoylespeaks. Please make sure you’re subscribed. It’s been a deep podcast though, hasn’t it? I’m going to sit here for a minute. I feel Yoda right now. Complex this is.
God bless you. My friends, my name’s Jonathan Doyle. This has been the Daily Podcast. You and I are going to talk again tomorrow.
