Emptying Your Cup

by Kirk Miller

There is an old story about a university professor went to visit a famous Zen master to learn. The master began quietly serving tea, while the professor asked about Zen. As the professor spoke, the master poured the tea cup to the brim. When it reached the top, he kept pouring. The professor watched the overflowing cup until he could no longer restrain himself and shouted, “It’s full, it’s full! No more will go in!” The Zen master replied, “You are like this cup. How can I teach you anything unless you first empty your cup?”

Many of us are like the professor, with our cups and our minds completely full. Then we keep on filling, or should I say, life keeps on filling for us. Since joining the Effective Edge team, I have been immersed into a full cup of new information, new things to learn and new responsibilities. Between my roles as a trainer as well as member of the business development team, there have been many things to learn, materials to study, books to read, tools to implement, classes to teach and plans to develop. Being a trainer is a full-time job. So is being in business development. I must admit that I have begun to feel a sense of an “overfull cup” myself. And life keeps on pouring.

In our Getting the EDGE course, we teach and implement some basic fundamentals that enable us to appropriately manage whatever amount of information that comes our way. EMPTYING is the first key step we teach in our Getting the EDGE course. Until we empty, whether our mind or our inbox, there is nowhere to put new information. Beginning the day intentionally and emptying our heads and our inbox allows us to manage all that comes our way in a peaceful and relaxed manner. It’s nothing complicated; very simple to practice, but deceptively easy to overlook. Beginning the day intentionally and emptying your head and collections points is the first step on the road to peace in your workday. As I return to these fundamentals on a daily basis I find myself returning to that peaceful place and that “Zen state” in my work. So can you.