At a lot of jobs, especially those with a lot of activity in the area, employees are told to be mindful of their surroundings at all times. This is a fair statement, especially when there could be vehicles or moving equipment involved.

These same places also demand that workers keep their minds on task. Again, not an unreasonable ask — distractions can have serious consequences.

The problem is that you can either focus your mind on your task or be mindful of something else — not both. The ideas are logical in concept but when used together they become little more than pointless phrases that supervisors repeat and workers ignore.

I know this is all semantics, and I understand what these people are trying to convey. But this same complacency is the same that ultimately leads to failure.