Sharks

"You're going to need a bigger boat."

~ Chief Brody | Jaws

My youngest child immediately recognized the music. He said, “The shark is close. I can tell by the song.” He was right. The music during a movie can rapidly change a mood. As the synthesizer hammers high notes during Halloween, it seems to have a direct line to your heart rate. The clicking sound in Predator signals high alert.

On the flip side are fun triggers. The aroma of cookies or freshly baked bread makes my mouth water. A familiar perfume that recalls someone from my past. My kids may struggle to hear me, but they can sense the ice cream truck six blocks away.

We become conditioned to have automatic responses to the signals we experience. Some emails are a dorsal fin slicing through the water. It may not be a shark, but I feel the reaction before I have read the message. However, I am warmed with joy when I set my out-of-office auto-reply.

We can create our own triggers. When you watch a baseball player step up to home plate, they have a variety of little rituals. They adjust their helmet, align their belts, and take practice swings. Golfers play with their visors and take deep breaths.

I’ve created a small ritual before I write. I turn on my office fan and grab a cold drink. I listen to the same playlist of songs through my big over-the-ear headphones. Even when I am exhausted or not feeling it, after I do my routine, I am almost always able to write.

I can allow automated responses to work against me, or I can train new ones. I can snap a rubber band on my wrist, count to five, or just adjust my visor. Any small action to remind me where I am. Right here, right now. I am in this moment. This new moment deserves a fresh, uncoerced response.

Am I reacting to a soundtrack? Have I tied my goals to a ritual that will help me accomplish them? Can I experience this moment with the response this moment deserves?

Be curious, be kind, be whole, do good things.