Faith Venture

“Obesity is a disease, not a choice.” So proclaims a billboard along I-90 in northern Indiana that I pass on every trip to Chicago.

I know the American Medical Association has redefined obesity, but I worry that many people will look at their physical condition as not their responsibility and just search for the magic pill that will end all their physical and emotional woes.

But whoever wrote the message on the board (bad advertising, I don’t remember the company) is correct in that obesity–like many other of our problems–is not a decision. It’s the result of a pattern of decisions–or non-decisions.

We develop patterns either consciously or unconsciously. It’s all the little decisions we make that add up. One day we don’t feel like  going out for some exercise or to the gym. The second day we don’t feel like it. We have a conflict on the third day. Then one day we realize we have established a pattern of inactivity.

It’s the same for everything. Our pattern of eating too much of the wrong food. Our pattern of either helping other people in big and little ways–or ignoring other people. Our pattern of rising early enough for study and reflection–or our pattern of sleeping until the last minute forcing us to rush through the morning.

Patterns must be replaced by other patterns. First we must decide who we are. Socrates said, “Be as you wish to seem.” First, say to yourself, “I’d like to be a nice person.” Or, “I’d like to be a physically fit person.” Or, “I’d like to be a person at peace with myself and others.”

If we know who we want to be, then we can begin “doing as we wish to seem.” The little choices that are made many times a day change. I want to be a nice person. I see someone whose arms are loaded with packages and I rush to open the door for them–or offer to help carry the packages. I smile and say thank you. I create a pattern.

It’s not rocket science, as they say. Humans knew this 5,000 years ago. But practicing it every day–that’s the challenge.

Henry Cloud recently popped up in my iTunes list. His books, especially Boundaries and Necessary Endings, have greatly influenced me. In fact, the latter book encouraged me to complete a necessary ending–and with it a couple of new beginnings.

He is a psychologist who studies deeply into neuroscience. He tried a joke on his audience, who evidently was hanging in such awe at his every word that it went over their heads. “The brain is such a wonderful thing, it’s like whoever created it had read the Bible.”  (You’ll get it later.)

So much of the Wisdom literature along with other writings perfectly align with what researchers discovered thousands of years later applying the scientific method.

One thing is attention. We cannot focus on more than one thing. Multitasking is a myth. I like music playing when I’m working. But it must be background “noise”. If it’s singing and the words break through my consciousness, then my focus is done.

If I am deeply concentrating on a task–say in my case it would be writing or reading–and then I interrupt the flow to check email, I am done. Cloud says that research says it takes at least 20 minutes to get back into that flow.

A new person came to my Yoga class last night. The first thing I teach in Yoga is attention–focus on your body, still the mind. I look over at her–a young woman or maybe even high school girl (when you get older like me, they all look young). She has her smartphone out and she’s texting. Ah, my challenge right away is to change her focus and keep her attention on her body and mind for the next 50 minutes. I was proud of her. She didn’t even get the phone out during final relaxation. She was actually still.

And that is just the attitude we need. Intentionally (meaning “on purpose”) focus our minds on our task–whether it’s study, meditation or celebration. Just live in that moment. Let the emails lie for a while. They’ll still be there.

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.