Being in the Moment, at 4 Years of Age!

My grandson had his fourth birthday party today, so I got to observe a group of 3 and 4 year olds.  It struck me, as it has whenever I spend time with my grandson, that these kids understand being in the moment!  Sometimes, that creates problems.  They want whatever they want at the moment, and they can't have it, they have a meltdown.  On the other hand, if you can successfully (and quickly) transition them to the next task, you can maintain them in a very happy state!  Trying to fight with them to get them out of the moment gets you a very expected result.  My wife and I have come to realize this, and endeavor not to fight with the result, and to be more accepting.  At four years of age, there's only so much that a kid can be expected to comprehend.

The more I think about it, the more I think that there's something to be learned from a four year old.  Of course, the focal point is that of being in the moment.  It's about appreciating and enjoying what one is doing in real time.  All too often, we spend our time thinking about what we could have done, or what we will do, instead of truly appreciating what we are doing.  Obviously, as an ironman athlete, I often talk about being in the moment in the context of ironman.  I can truly speak to the fact that last week, in Kona, I am proud of the fact that I stayed in the moment for most of the day.  I probably wouldn't have survived the day, if I hadn't.

I'm having such a great time watching my grandson grow up.  There's nothing I enjoy more than seeing the joy in his eyes when he's doing something that he loves.  There's also something about enjoying what you're doing, when you're doing it.  It's all too easy to let our minds wander to regret over things past, or to start thinking about what's next.  In Kona, it would have been easy for me to spend time during my 7 hour and 19 minute bike ride worrying about how I was going to make it on the run.  Fortunately, I never did that.  It was nice to start the run and to be pleasantly surprised that my legs felt good.  That allowed me to run for nearly 12 miles, before my legs didn't feel good.  Even then, intermittently, I would suspend how I felt and give it another try.  That allowed me to do the best I could do on that one day.  Oh, to be four years old!