Mindlessness is the opposite of Mindfulness. When we are Mindful we are in a state of relaxed concentration, in present time. When we are Mindless we allow our thoughts to drift. We become distracted by negative emotions and put our motions on autopilot. Essentially, when we are unfocused we evade the here and now and we become automatons. But, rarely, do we calculate the high cost of mindlessness in our lives.
This is Part 1 of our series on Mindfulness, called “How to Avoid The High Cost of Mindlessness In Your Real Estate Practice”.
Recently, we were driving on Highway 101 along the Santa Barbara coast heading to town to do some errands. Alexandra had two important letters in her hand, a reminder that we needed to stop at the post office in time for the 11 am pickup.
We began talking about something controversial in the news and mindlessly missed the exit to the post office. This distraction cost us an additional 10 minutes of driving time, which may seem inconsequential. But, it made us wonder how many 10-minute units of wasted time we accumulate in a week, a month or a year of our lives, due to Mindlessness.
This time could have been spent in Mindfulness. We could have used it to enjoy, savor and discuss the magnificent view of the Pacific Ocean, the beautiful Channel Islands just beyond our coastline and all of the lush greenery in our mountains that resulted from our much-needed recent rainstorms.
Later that morning, I (Ron, here) purchased some dental floss that Alexandra needed from a pharmacy that I vowed never to patronize again due to its unpardonable customer service. I was again mindlessly on autopilot; my thoughts were elsewhere. I ignored my vow because it was more “conveniently located” than the alternative pharmacy, which meant an extra stop.
I wound up buying the wrong product because I was too much in a hurry to ask Alexandra which one she wanted (she was next door and that would have taken two extra minutes to do). I used Apple Pay and did not bother with a paper receipt.
In the car on the way home, Alexandra informed me that I bought the wrong floss. So we stopped at the location of that pharmacy closer to our house to return it and get the right product that was less expensive. But, without a paper receipt they could only give me a partial credit for the wrong product. This policy was more proof of that I would never step foot again in one of their stores. This additional incident of Mindlessness (I was fuming) happened literally within15 minutes of the original purchase and cost me $6.17.
These experiences and others like them were wake-up calls for the urgent need for more Mindfulness in our lives! Suddenly, Mindlessness had a price tag in wasted minutes of our wonderful life and actually represented quantifiable lost dollars.
Please join us for Part 2 of this article series as we shine the spotlight on what we have identified as the most important topic of our lives, today: Mindfulness!
Comments(33)