Gary Mintchell

Author Archive

Direction Not Destination

July 10, 2023

Kevin Kelly, author and writer, observed, “Looking ahead, focus on direction rather than destinations. Maintain the right direction, and you’ll arrive at where you want to go.”

I used to run, or jog, or whatever you call it. This was not so that I could run 5Ks or 10Ks or marathons. It was so I could keep up with play while refereeing soccer. Soccer is mostly sprints and jogs and walks. Going to the park and just going for 3-4 miles was not really enjoyable.

I noticed that it was a better day when I just focused on the next step plus my breathing. Focusing on the end point bred frustration.

There are people searching for some sort of instantaneous jump from ordinary to heaven.

But life is one step at a time. Daily disciplines of study, prayer, meditation, service, reflection.

Focus on going the right direction. The destination will suddenly appear on the way.

Posted in Disciplines, focus | Leave a Comment »

Grace Turned Outward

July 7, 2023

John Fischer was a pioneer of the Jesus Movement music scene of the early 70s. He now leads a ministry called The Catch with the subhead Grace Turned Outward. A mutual friend introduced us (virtually). I send some financial support his way.

It’s because I really like that Grace Turned Outward mission.

I’ve experienced many evangelicals who seem suspicious of grace. They think it’s all about the head—saying you believe certain dogma. Some may look at grace turned inward. That strange warming in my heart.

I was given the gift of reading and thinking for understanding—feeble though it may be. I read the Gospels. Look at the actions of Jesus. Mostly he introduced other people to grace. He encouraged his followers to likewise share grace with others.

Jesus embodied Grace Turned Outward.

His brother James wrote about how worthless it is if you do not go out and help other people.

If you can feel the grace God has provided to you, it cannot be bottled. Jesus said not to hide your light under a basket but to let it shine as light for others.

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Calm and Courageous

July 6, 2023

I love reading about the early Jesus-followers in the New Testament and from the first three centuries of the Jesus movement. They didn’t know everything. They were trying to figure out the way. They experimented with ideas. Tried things.

When things went badly, watching their responses is instructive even for us today. They faced events calmly, with courage, and with an eye toward the common good.

Sometimes today I see self-proclaimed Christians whining at every small slight.

What if today we began trying more to emulate the early followers of Christ? What if we were open to discussion? What if we sought the truth without believing that we are the sole holders of it? What if we were infused with the fruit of the spirit exhibiting calmness, courage, trying to achieve the common good, with joy, peace, yes, and love?

Posted in Attitude | Leave a Comment »

Do You Have A Growth or A Fixed Mindset?

July 5, 2023

“How did I get into this situation?”

I’ve pushed myself into many situations over my lifetime where I would ask myself that question. There I was, the guy with the whistle, about to signal for the kickoff of the boys big school state championship soccer contest. “What am I doing here?”

Many times I’ve pushed myself only to subsequently wonder what I’d done to myself.

I thought of that last week with my grandkids.

My grandson is just back from a tour of five European countries with 600 of his closest friends—well 600 other high school student musicians from Illinois. They toured and performed in England, France, Germany, Switzerland, and Austria. He’s already an experienced international traveler, but he put himself into an entirely new experience at age 15.

Meanwhile his 13-year-old sister went off for a week at a swim camp (she’s a competitive swimmer) in another state. She put herself out for a new experience.

Psychology research suggests two primary types of mindset: growth and fixed. A fixed mindset happens when you believe there are restrictions on what you can accomplish. A growth mindset looks at possibilities. We all experience both types of thinking, but spending more time in the growth mode creates changes in your brain that can increase your likelihood of success.

Studies suggest that those with more time in a growth mindset are better at goal-setting and decision-making. Additional research also appears to show that a growth mindset can build resilience that turns potentially frustrating moments into learning experiences.

It is often said that you are the sum of your six closest friends. You need to be around people who are more positive, encourage you to grow beyond what you think is possible, and provide specific positive feedback. So if you’re around too much negativity, it’s time to cut that loose.

Those with a growth mindset tend to be inspired by the success of others (rather than intimidated or defeated), and they focus on expanding their comfort zone.

Stepping outside the comfort zone to learn, teach (best way to learn!), serve boosts your confidence and your physical, mental, and emotional growth.

What’s holding you back?

Posted in Attitude, Growth | Leave a Comment »

Attention and Distraction

July 4, 2023

I once began reading a book called Distraction. I couldn’t focus due to distractions. Don’t think I finished it.

We live in an attention economy. Companies, politicians, and organizations depend upon capturing our attention for their financial livelihood.

I opened Facebook this morning to check on who among my friends was having a birthday. I wished some old friends a happy anniversary. When I went to the page to log out (never, ever leave Facebook logged in, as it will track everything you do) and realized maybe for the first time how many things they have to try to capture additional attention.

I logged out.

Yesterday I wished to compile my notes from a conference now two weeks past. The notebook open (I take notes with pen in a special notebook), I breathed deeply, sipped my coffee at the coffee house, and focused with intention on my work. It was a marvelous bringing to mind the many good things I learned that week.

The pastor of my church reminds people each week of the space in the bulletin to take notes. He researches to prepare his message. The least we could do is use pen and paper to make notes in order to remember his points. It’s a good strategy. We focus better with fewer distractions while taking notes. We remember more while writing than by typing.

And this morning, I was able to focus for a half-hour on this brief essay. It’s a good thing.

People from all over the world read this blog. Today is called Independence Day in America because it commemorates the day the delegates to the Continental Congress approved a document we call The Declaration of Independence. It would do us well to read it. I just saw where the President of the Ukraine just quoted it. I long for the day when the ideals expressed in that document come to fruition here in the US—and everywhere. All people are treated as equals, we have not only liberty (some people stop there) but also justice for all.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Yesterday I wrote the 3,000th post to this blog. It doesn’t seem like that many over the time.

Posted in Attention | Leave a Comment »

More Thoughts on The Little Things

July 3, 2023

I wrote about how little things matter Friday. Then I received my weekly newsletter from Vitaliy Katsenelson, CEO of an investment firm who also calls himself “student of life.” He wrote this:

Just remember, little things matter; on their own, you may not notice them, but they all add up. Walt Disney once said, “You can feel quality.” Quality is the result of doing all the little things well, and with heart and soul.

I also receive a fitness newsletter five days a week. This morning they told of many responses they’ve seen over the several months since this newsletter began of people applying the 1% better approach. Just try for 1% better at something every day. Some people began the training with 15-lb. dumbells and are not at 30-lb. A little at a time. I encourage my granddaughter every time she posts just a little better time in her swim meets. At the end of this season, her times are remarkably better than at the beginning.

You think you cannot read something spiritual and meditate/pray every day for 30 minutes. But you start with five minutes you grab with early morning coffee. Soon, 30 minutes is nothing.

This reminds me of the folk song, The Garden Song.

Inch by inch, row by row

Gonna make this garden grow

Gonna mulch it deep and low

Gonna make it fertile ground

The Garden Song

Posted in Disciplines | Leave a Comment »

It’s The Little Things

June 30, 2023

Little things matter.

The small, almost incidental, decisions accumulate and lead to habits.

Teach yourself to be aware of little things you do, usually without thinking. Have you done them three days consecutively? Is it now a habit that will degrade your health–physical or spiritual?

Think of the little things.

Making your bed when you get up. That begins the day with discipline and you are rewarded with a freshly made bed at night.

Flossing after brushing your teeth.

Not absent-mindedly scrolling through social media.

Having a good book laid out ready to read when the moment happens.

A smile and greeting to everyone you meet.

The little things accumulate. When you reflect at the end of the day, you’ll be amazed at the good.

Posted in Disciplines | 1 Comment »

Can You Think?

June 29, 2023

OK, I never thought I’d ever quote that famous behaviorist psychologist B.F. Skinner, but this thought was too good to pass over without, well, thinking about.

The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do.

John Wesley, among many other Christian writers and preachers, talked about using experience, tradition, and reason while coming to understand scripture.

If I took Facebook as an example of the level of thinking in the world right now, I’d be forced into skepticism about the ability of humans to think. Perhaps other forms of communication, as well.

Some people are worried about artificial intelligence technologies such as ChatGPT taking away our ability to think. On the one hand, I wonder about our ability to begin with. On the other hand, I have heard teachers explain that ChatGPT can be used along with thinking.

How, you may ask. Have the student (or you can try it) think and devise a topic sentence. The big question. Then write three or four supporting statements. Then turn ChatGPT loose to research and write some paragraphs. Then go back and rewrite that prose into English (or whatever).

My first geometry teacher told us that we’d learn about shapes and angles, but also that mostly what we would learn was how to think. Solving proofs of theorems is a great model. I use it to this day.

Try thinking sometime today. Read a passage (not just a single verse which can lead you astray). Think of possibilities. Not just one interpretation. What if the writer meant this? Or that?How did the original readers take this? Go sit in a park or by a pond or river and just think.

This reminds me of a story I heard many years ago. This could have been about me at 10 years old. It seems a little boy was sitting in class in school. He was staring out the window totally oblivious to the class. The teacher noticed and stopped talking. Soon, all the kids were staring. He realized something was up and his attention returned to the classroom. “What were you doing?” asked the teacher. “I was thinking,” was the reply. “Don’t you know you’re not supposed to think in school?” she said. When the entire class burst out in laughter, she realized what she said.

But, too often it’s true in school and at work—we’re not supposed to think. Be that little boy. Think.

Posted in Disciplines, Thinking | Leave a Comment »

The Journey From Ego to Soul

June 28, 2023

If you’ve followed me long, you realize I’m an eclectic reader. I’m like a sponge plus a filter when it comes to absorbing information and wisdom wherever I can. Steven Pressfield writes fiction, nonfiction, and screenplays. His The War of Art (a cute play on words from the classic Sun Tzu, The Art of War) talks about The Resistance that interferes with your creative process.

He writes a weekly newsletter. This morning he wrote about the memorial service for his old friend and mentor Norm Stahl. Norm’s son told the story of Norm and his cousin. The cousin called once and asked for $25,000 for an emergency (most likely a gambling debt). This was many years ago when that was really a lot of money. Norm had it, and he loaned it. The cousin never paid it back.

The entire family knew the situation. It was a constant source of tension at family gatherings. At one family holiday gathering the tension visited again. Norm got up and walked toward his cousin. He hugged him. It broke the tension. Everyone was released.

Pressfield writes, The change in Norm was he shifted from the ego to the soul. This is monumental. It’s the equivalent, if you ask me, of what the Buddha would call Enlightenment.

The ego holds grudges. The ego sees only its own self-interest. The ego hoards slights and grievances. The ego hates.

But the higher self sees soul-to-soul. It pierces the Little Picture and perceives what’s really important. It loves. It forgives.

Pressfield is spot on. That is why Jesus and the early Christian Desert Fathers (see John Climacus, for example) spent so much time on ego, pride, humility.

I sense that we (all of us) need to meditate and pray deeply about our own journey from ego to soul. Someone need a hug today?

Posted in Attitude, Humility, pride | Leave a Comment »

Time–Do We Have Enough?

June 27, 2023

Time. We just don’t have enough of it.

Or, do we.

Perhaps what we lack is focus. Decide on something to work on, work on it.

Perhaps we say Yes too often and need to practice the word No. Or, Sorry, I cannot fit it into my schedule.

On the other hand, perhaps we structure too many things into a day. We have not built in slack time. We have not set aside time to just sit (or walk) and think and relax.

We must set aside eight hours for sleep. We should set aside three hours for eating. Eating slowly helps us consume less and keep our weight down.

That leaves us with 13 hours for work, play, rest, connection. It should be plenty.

Posted in focus | Leave a Comment »

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