Today I wanted to discuss the uniqueness of every moment, but from the perspective of how to learn from each moment to make small improvements.
“Ichigo Ichie” is a Japanese phrase that means ‘one time, one meeting’. The meaning of this statement can be placed over every situation we find ourselves in. Similar to ‘no two breathes are the same’, we can learn something from every situation and use that new knowledge to improve the next situation we find ourselves in.
When I read about this concept, it has a massive impact on my life and outlook. As a father, I should be a lot more patient than I am, but I am terrible. I didn’t realise how impatient I was until I had kids. I love them with my whole heart, but they certainly know how to trigger me!
Simple things like the kids wanting to help me empty the dishwasher in the morning. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for my kids doing chores but when they are four and two, there’s a high risk of broken plates and glass.
But after learning about ichigo ichie, it made me reframe those moments and made me realise that these were opportunities to slow down, enjoy the moment and I realised that the kids wanted to be part of the tasks that I was doing.
Through this I acknowledged the trigger that increased my feelings of impatience and took the opportunity to acknowledge and respond to it in a different way.
Every time I observe the feelings, I feel a greater sense of control over my response and my patience levels increase.
When I catch myself feeling impatient, I know that I am making that strand of my life stronger and more resilient and will be able to take a better version of myself into the next moment. Which will ultimately give me a better relationship with my family.
I have good days and I have bad days, but like everything, those small little wins of acknowledging how I feel and then choosing how I respond, are making me and more patient. The compounding effect is true, not just for money.
Each day reflecting on my wins and on the things I’m grateful for have really helped me be present in the moment. When you can look back on each day, week and month on all the great things that have happened, you start to appreciate the moments you live.
How does the ‘one time, one meeting’ apply to your life? How can you be mindful of one thing today that can improve the whole of your life story?
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