Just Show Up

Just showing up is a habit that anyone can do but few people can do it consistently. It means being present for something or someone, day in day out.

During my teens, I was part of a Buddhist youth group that met every Sunday 11AM - 3PM. We (the teenage boys my age) were lead by a couple of older guys who really went out of their way to treat us like younger brothers. The older guys loved sports and set up a time before the youth group started where we would get together and play some sports (indoor soccer, basketball). On the weeks that we played, we played hard. Teams would be randomly chosen and competition would be intense but at the end of it, we would feel more connected as a group knowing we all took extra time out of our lives to do these activities.

What's crazy was that the older guys would go out of their way to pick us up every Sunday morning, never missing a single week. Every few weeks one of us would still be sleeping at the time they arrived, but that never deterred them from waking us up and hauling our asses into the car 😂. No matter what, they showed up.

Looking back, I think this time in my life had a profound effect on who I am as a person. It's made me realize that consistently showing up not only has a profound effect on yourself (by building habits) but has an even greater effect on the people around you.