How Do We Know?
Maybe you’ve heard of or been to an Orange Theory workout, or maybe not. It doesn’t matter. Here’s the deal…Orange Theory workouts are all about working out at various intensities with varying heart rates…spending time in specific zones throughout the workout. Each participant is wearing a heart rate monitor that captures their information and makes it visible both to them and the entire class throughout the workout. At the end of the workout you get a summary like the one in the photo above. Straightforward and simple, right?
Yesterday I went to class and forgot to wear my heart rate monitor. I jumped on the treadmill and immediately felt worried. I had no way to login to watch what was happening. Fortunately the front desk offers rental monitors so I went up front to get one. Back on the treadmill. Problem solved. But something was wrong with the connection and so the loaner monitor wasn’t reading my information and publishing it on the screen. After the coach tried to figure it out and couldn’t, I had to resign myself to the fact that I wouldn’t be tracking what was happening with my body during this workout. I felt some frustration with myself for forgetting my monitor and some frustration that the one I was using wasn’t working. After fifteen minutes or so of fixating on that frustration, a new thought occurred to me…I could simply pay attention to what my body was telling me. It turns out, I actually know what zone I’m in based on how I’m feeling. Does my breath come easily and steadily? I’m most likely in blue or green. Do I feel a bit of exertion and a quickening of my heart rate? Then I’ve moved into orange. Am I working to catch my breath and feeling like I don’t have much gas left in the tank? I’ve reached the red zone.
And that got me thinking about how often I am looking outward for information about how I am feeling, or direction on how I should be feeling. This recent election season has been a critical reminder of that fact. Prior to election day, I scrolled and subscribed and channel surfed to find information that would tell me what I needed to know. Much of the information evoked an emotional reaction from me…hope, outrage, sadness, joy…to name a few. I responded to the inputs I sought out and let in. I let the “screen” tell me how I was feeling and what “zone” my heart was in.
The temptation to continue that pattern is strong for me. I’m attached to a belief that if I gather enough information I’ll know how to prepare and how to manage my emotional response. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in all my work as a coach, it’s that uncertainty is at the center of everything. Feedback conversations, job transitions, new leadership roles, family changes. Going “out there” for information doesn’t necessarily yield the answers we want. Other people’s opinions or direction doesn’t give us the certainty we’re longing to find.
There’s only one way I can think of to get to what is real and true for each one of us. Only one way to answer the question, “how do we know"?” We start with tuning in to what is happening in the present moment. Simply naming the current circumstances. For me right now that sounds like, “I’m at my desk, writing this article. I’m at home. I’m comfortable and safe.” That’s all I know for certain right now. I can then check in with my senses. “I feel warm. My sweater is soft and feels good on my skin. It’s quiet. My body is relaxed. I’m hungry.” All the rest of my meandering thoughts tend to be about something that happened earlier today, or stories I’m creating about what will happen later today, or next week, or next year. They are not attached to the present moment or to what is true for my heart right now.
So maybe ask yourself today, “What is true right now?” “What do I know for certain?” “What zone is my heart in?” Stay present with yourself and don’t worry too much about what the screen tells you. You already know.
