What is that “One Thing”?
By John Royer
It has been a while since I last posted a blog about safety. After giving some thought as to what I wanted to write about, my mind was not clear on coming up with a topic. That is when the idea of what to write about came to me. I needed to free up my mind to allow for fresh ideas. So now I had the topic idea but lacked the process on how to achieve it. In addition, I not only had to figure it out for myself but also, how to explain it to you, the reader.
How does one go about clearing the mind to accept fresh thinking? The process could be different for everyone. For this reason, it is up to everyone to figure that out for themselves. Everyone needs to have that “one thing” that they can go to that will help them free up their mind. I bet right now you are thinking, great answer, now what do I do if I don’t know what that “one thing” is? The answer for me was really simple. I thought about the “one thing” for me that makes me feel relaxed and I enjoy. The answer was Golf. I reflected on how the game itself makes me happy whether I play good or bad. When I play badly, I use the same swing with a fresh approach. In my mind, I know I can hit the shot or make the putt, every time. The fact is, I don’t make the shot or putt every time, but my mind is clear in thinking that I can. This allows me to have a fresh approach to the game every time I play it, no matter how good or bad I played the last time.
My suggestion for you is, figure out what the “one thing” is that makes you the happiest, gives you peace, makes you calm, and restores your energy. Keep in mind here that your spouse, family members, or significant other people in your life are people and not “things”. We all have those essential people in our lives for support and love, and while they will certainly help us through hard times and bring us joy, they reside in our hearts. In order to free up your mind, this “one thing” should be directed inward, strictly toward yourself. The place you can go or thing you can do that makes you calm, happy, and content.
Freeing up the mind is a lot like tuning in the channel for clarity, so to speak, opening up our brains to the interpretation of the “one thing” that can make us think of something in a new way. I have often wondered why it is that even though proven safe practices are taught in training classes based on regulations and manufacturer’s guidelines, employees still get hurt. And many of the safety articles that are posted on social media or written for publications in magazines, all share the common theme of promoting awareness for identifying hazards or risky behavior. They even suggest several methods of preventative measures that one could use to prevent injuries or illnesses. Unfortunately, too many times employees choose not to follow them, and bad things often occur. The fact that trained employees are still getting injured or becoming ill at work is shocking to me.
Perhaps, those employees are also suffering from a state of mind where things are not clear. They attend the training class because it is required not necessarily wanted. They may go into the class thinking they already know this stuff, unwilling to admit they might not know it as well as they think. Maybe it is time for them to choose or find that “one thing” for themselves that can clear their mind and allow for a fresh thinking approach.
Do you know what that “one thing” is for you?
Safety is the result of working with a state of mind that is open to fresh ideas and methods of controlling the hazards associated with the work and the environment. I would like to suggest that the next class or meeting you attend should be with you having a fresh thinking state of mind. Challenge yourself to learn something that you did not know beforehand and then make a pledge to pass that knowledge on to someone else. If you are successful in this endeavor, it may be the “one thing” that prevents you or someone else from being injured. It may be the “one thing” someone else remembers about you that made a difference in their life. Above all, it will be the “one thing” that you will know you did to make a difference.