Can you think of a colleague who punches the clock on time but daydreams the hours away. Or a kid who shows up for school every day but makes museum-quality doodles during class? How about someone who goes to the gym routinely but doesn’t work hard enough to break a sweat? Or the parent who attends every family function but does not engage with anyone there?
All are examples of successful attendance. These individuals appear where they are supposed to be. They are PRESENT.
However, the employee whose mind wanders all day is not contributing effectively to the workplace. The student who doodles throughout class is not absorbing the lesson in full. The gym visitor who exercises casually will not reap the benefits of a serious workout. The parent who does not communicate with family will not cultivate rapport.
PRESENT is not the same as INVESTED. A body in place soaks up space, but an invested body creates energy, whether that energy is learning, affecting change, transforming physique or communicating. There is a significant quality difference between those who regard attendance as participation and those who invest themselves when present by wholly delivering their attention, focus and movement.
Presence is visible. Investment is palpable.
Remember, being somewhere simply means showing up, in the literal sense. Being invested, however, implies active participation in an exchange, a relationship or an event.
Showing up will make a good impression in the short-term. It will prove that you got yourself from one place to another and honored some part of a commitment. But, if that’s where you stop participating, then the impression you make will be inconsequential. In order to have impact—whether as a student, employee, athlete or spouse, to name a few—you must put your head, heart and your “present” body into an experience once you arrive and for as long as you stay. You will not only affect your world, but will also affect the world around you in a memorable way.
I always say, there is no room for mediocrity unless you can cover it with ketchup. Presence is mediocre. Investment is excellent.
If given the choice between mediocrity and excellence, I’ll choose excellence every time. And I’ll get results in kind. You will, too. Will you follow my lead?