Presence is the Best Preparation

I’ve spent a great deal of time in my life preparing for future events: coaching sessions, meetings, presentations, performances, and any number of other occasions.

The other day, as I was talking to a client about preparing for a specific event, it occurred to me that preparation is a tool I don’t use much anymore. A much better tool has taken its place.

What could be better than preparation? Only one thing: presence, sheer presence. When I think back on all the preparation I did, I can see that I didn’t really even know what I was preparing for. I thought I had a good idea of what I should be preparing, but it was only an idea, filled to the brim with assumptions.

I assumed I knew all the circumstances of the meeting, who would show up, what the feeling in the room would be, what issue or issues would be most useful, what the agenda would include, what the content of my piece should contain. Even with the best information possible, I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t surprised by some element of the meeting, whatever its nature.

This was especially true for client meetings. If I did preparation based on where we’d left off at our last session, more often than not, it turned out my client had other, more important needs at that moment. Ones I hadn’t prepared for.

I found when I had been really diligent and done tons of preparation, a certain inflexibility became baked into me.

I was no longer able to respond to what was in front of me at the moment; I was responding to what I had assumed would be important. 

So I was missing the cues that the client was giving me, and putting out something other than what was optimal. Quite honestly, I felt like a slacker when I didn’t prepare, but when it became clear I couldn’t know in advance what I was preparing for, I found myself doing less prep. What seemed to work best was just showing up and being completely present.

I understand the reason why preparation gives people a sense of security. Just showing up and being fully present requires a level of trust, and the only way to let that trust bloom is, well, to trust it. I consistently find that when I’m able to trust, what I need will appear as I need it. It never seems to fail.

I’ve also seen the only way to really fly is to be willing to leave the apparently solid ground under my feet. It sounds obvious, but from what I see, it can take a degree of trust that’s beyond the comfort level of a lot of people.

Here’s what they’re missing.

It’s not trusting in yourself that’s required; it’s trust in life. When I trust in life, it often surprises me, but it never disappoints me.

Life knows what I need at any given moment. It’s only when I can listen beyond my own thinking that I can hear what life at that moment is offering for my use. Because, after all, when I found out I could fly, what do you need a net for?

The quality of my work has improved immeasurably since presence became my preparation. In other words, work of a higher quality, with less effort. Not a bad trade, is it?

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