I recently heard actor Jamie Leigh Curtis repeat the mantra that helped her through recovery from addiction and that she still uses every day: Be where your feet are. It’s a simple and elegant way to remind yourself to be present.
There are a couple of ways we forget to be where our feet are. One is getting caught up in the future. Sometimes (increasingly often), it’s about recording the moment instead of being in the moment. I watch influencers and social media-obsessed fans taking selfies and posing in front of the action at baseball games instead of following the action. Photographers who are so focused on getting the shot that they don’t register the full beauty of the scene in front of them. They’re documenting the moment for a future audience instead of being in the moment.
Sometimes, we’re so worried about what might happen next that we miss what’s happening now. The Stoics were some of the first Western thinkers to espouse mindfulness. Marus Aurelius said, “The present moment is enough for you. There is no need to seek anything else”. Seneca said, “The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today”.
When you’re worried about what might happen in the future, you lose focus on what’s happening right now. The same goes for trying to understand or influence what others are thinking about you. Worrying about whether the recruiter likes you is distracting you from doing well in the interview. Worrying about making a mistake or whether people will like your work is taking you away from doing the best work you can do.
And it’s a form of trying to control what happens, which intellectually, you know is not possible. Fretting about the future is akin to preparing for success and failure at the same time; it generally makes failure a more likely option. We only have power over what we control, and that is almost entirely limited to our actions and reactions. Back to the Stoics: Epictetus said, “Freedom is the only worthy goal in life. It is won by disregarding things that lie beyond our control.”
The other way we fail to be where our feet are is by living in or focusing on the past. When it’s hard to enjoy a moment because you’re no longer young/where you want to be/with your partner/able to afford to do it the way you used to – or your personal regret here – you’re robbing yourself of the joy you could be feeling now. It’s natural to be wistful about the past, but not always helpful. “Be where your feet are” is a way to bring yourself back to the present.
Seneca again: “Begin at once to live, and count each separate day as a separate life.” Jamie Leigh Curtis says that being mindful and present is also her way of achieving acceptance. Her mantra helps her stay centered and accept life “on life’s terms”.
How would your life improve if you committed yourself to being where your feet are?
Your Work, Your Way 