Faith Venture

I was listening to an Andy Stanley talk recently when he threw out this phrase, “We don’t lack the will to change, but we lack the focus to change.”

The more I thought about this, the greater the wisdom in that statement I perceived. Much of success in life relates to focus and attention.

When I teach people balance poses in Yoga, you know those poses you probably have seen pictures where the model is standing on one foot looking so lithe and graceful, I offer two instructions at the beginning. Find a stationary spot to focus on. Clear your mind so that your entire attention is in the moment on the pose.

In the many years that I’ve taught physical health, I’ve seen the will to change. People show up in class (usually in January or September) with the best of intentions. Their will brought them off the couch to the class. But their life has no (or not enough) focus on well being and they soon stop coming.

I have seen people who have become convinced that their lives will improve if they just begin reading the Bible daily. They are correct, of course. And they have the will to begin. But they cannot focus on the reading and thinking. Their attention wanders. And they soon lose interest. “It really didn’t help,” they might say.

So, how do you achieve mental focus? Michael Hyatt just had some thoughts that he shared through this podcast.

Here are his ten tactics to create more mental focus:

• Block off time on your calendar.
• Isolate yourself in a quiet place.
• Turn the room temperature down.
• Get comfortable.
• Take email and social media software offline.
• Put on music that helps facilitate concentration.
• Have something on-hand to drink.
• Avoid high glycemic carbohydrates.
• Set mini-goals.
• Set a timer and take predetermined breaks.

I have used these myself and recommend them.

What am I doing to get better?

I was listening to a speaker last week, and he just sort of dropped that question on me. Am I getting better? Am I even trying to get better? Better at what?

My background is manufacturing. We have a practice–put into action in the better companies–called continuous improvement. Everyone in the plant is encouraged to think about things and look for ways to improve. We are encouraged to speak up when we see something.

Getting better must become a way of life. To begin with, we must be the kind of person who wants to get better. Of course, we need to define what we want to get better at. Better at relating. A better disciple.

I’m not here to teach Lean manufacturing or kaizen. But many of the Spiritual Disciplines (or practices) discussed by Richard J. Foster in “Celebration of Discipline” have helped me over the years. Even before I knew they had a name. Here’s a refresher:

• Meditation (still the mind and focus on the issue)
• Prayer (talk with God about it–including listening)
• Fasting (watch what you eat so that you avoid the sluggish feeling–my special focus now)
• Study (feed the mind so that it grows)
• Simplicity (don’t overly complicate things and keep life uncluttered)
• Solitude (sometimes you have to withdraw to think)
• Submission (if you already know everything, then you’ll never grow)
• Service (helping out is a fantastic growth opportunity)
• Confession (realize you have not done your best)
• Worship (get together with others to share stories, offer encouragement)
• Guidance (seek help from those who have been there)
• Celebration (just like the three parables about “lost things”, gather friends and celebrate progress)

Just a few notes. Hope it helps.

Welcome to Monday morning. Who do you want to be this week?

Probably a heavy question to start the week. But before you fill your schedule with appointments, before you prioritize your to-do list, before you pick up the paper–decide who you want to be.

The person you want to be will determine which appointments you want to keep. It will prioritize which tasks you need to tackle. Which books to read. Which emails to respond to. What Web sites to browse.

I often look at people and see a kind of “lostness” in their eyes. People who are going nowhere with their lives. I don’t want to be one of them. Neither did Jesus.

It’s your choice. That’s the power of being human. We have that power. So, use it.

Jesus wanted us to be disciples. So, I claim discipleship. What does that mean to things I will do and the appointments I keep this week?

Steve Jobs said something once about the power of yes. Say yes to what is important, then it’s easier to say no to all the other requests for your time. Focus on the important–not necessarily the urgent.

Here’s to a good week!

I think about focus often. That’s right–I focus on focus.

Especially in this era of constant distraction. Where a few social scientists try to prove that multi-tasking is a good way of life.

I don’t remember how I ran across this book I’m now reading–“Distraction” by Damon Young. At only 11 pages into it, I can’t recommend it, yet. But he makes an interesting point in the first few pages. Value. What is it that you value? Distraction is that which draws your attention away from the things you  value toward things of lesser value.

You only have so many hours in a day. And only so many hours in a life. What is it you value that you want to do? Determine that first.

When I’m working, there is a task that I’ve determined that must be completed. Either it earns some income, pushes me toward a goal, or aligns with an overall goal (promoting the soccer program in Ohio or getting the missions ministry in our church supercharged, for example).

I choose one of those and focus for a period of time. Perhaps I work on an essay. Then I take a short break and then focus on a document I’ve contracted to write. Most of us work in 90 minute bursts followed by 10 minutes or so of a break–maybe to fix a cup of tea and take a short walk to clear the mind.

We choose that which we value. Make sure what you choose is your highest value.

The other day during a conversation about time management and to-do lists and the like, I mentioned that I was a disciple of David Allen, who wrote “Getting Things Done.” Followers of Allen’s method are known as “GTDers.”

As soon as I said the word “disciple” I felt challenged. That is a strong word.

To be a disciple means I found a teacher who has something important to teach. The teacher shows a better way to live and provides guidance toward living it. I follow the teachings and the teacher. I do what the teacher says. I try to model the teacher.

That’s a challenge. I am a GTDer, but I don’t always follow the method. Then I compare back to the original thoughts and re-orient myself.

Jesus taught an entirely new way of living. A new way of relating to God. A way that subverted both the ruling Jewish leaders and the ruling Roman leaders. He gathered people around him. He called them disciples. They called themselves disciples. They tried to do what he taught. They tried to model themselves after the teacher.

It took them a while. They say new habits can be formed in about 21 days of doing a new practice. With the first disciples, it was more like 21 months. Or more.

But they did it. And passed it on. And now almost 2,100 years later, there are still disciples.

Disciples became known as “Christians.” But, as Andy Stanley has been emphasizing in his current series, that was a term used by those outside the group to describe the movement. It was not used by those inside–at least to start with. “Christian” is not defined in the Bible. But we know what a disciple is–and it entails hard work and commitment.

When someone asks if I’m a Christian, I prefer to say I’m a disciple of Jesus.

[Note for the curious–or those who would like to “get things done”: In brief, the GTD methodology entails writing everything down, emptying your mind, and putting the notes in a trusted place. Could be file folders or electronic. I use a program called Nozbe (affiliate link). Then you review all your notes every week and compile to-do lists. There’s more than that. If you’re challenged about getting things done, get the book and the Web app.]

Jesus went to the synagogue as was his habit.

The Gospel writers were not like today’s mass media reporters. They didn’t miss the big picture and report on mundane little things in Jesus’ life. Sometimes they did offer glimpses. A few times, they refer to a habit.

I just listened to Charles Duhigg, author of “The Power of Habit,” interviewed by David Allen, author of “Getting Things Done.” I am not only a disciple of Jesus, I’m also a disciple of “GTD.”

As we form our Spiritual Practices into habits, there are a few essentials. Often I refer to a blog by Leo Babauta, “ZenHabits.” I guess he’s run out of ways to talk about habits, because he doesn’t update often anymore. But then I discovered Duhigg.

He talks about cue, routine and reward.

A cue, for example, may be to lay out your exercise clothes before you go to bed so that when you get up, you put them on and are mentally prepared for your workout. Perhaps you place your Bible or other current reading by your morning chair, so that when you get up and make your cup of coffee, your book is inviting you to sit, study and meditate for a time.

I have practiced the power of cue for years without realizing its power. But it helps the routine. And that is the one thing missing when I travel and find myself on odd schedules. Guess I’ll try that on myself Wednesday when I wake up in Cleveland (a conference on machinery failure prevention–sure to be exciting).

What cues do you use? Or have you even thought about using a cue to trigger your desired habit?