Posts Tagged ‘Thinking’

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I Do What I Don’t Want To Do and I Don’t Do What I Want To Do

April 15, 2014

The title might sound reminiscent of something Paul wrote when he was letting himself get complicated again. But did you ever notice that one part of your brain knows something and another part of your brain does something different?

I know about warming up before exercise. I know about staying warm between bursts of exercise. I know about stretching afterward.

But, did I do that Sunday? Nooooo.

Last weekend was the first weekend I spent mostly outdoors this spring. I was out in the sun and wind Saturday as a timer for the pro soccer referee fitness tests. Then out again for yard work in the afternoon.

Then Sunday, I refereed two adult men soccer games. It was warm and windy. The field was slightly soft. It was my first outdoor running of the year. I met one of the other referees and we chatted. Then the third came. Then it was time to inspect the players and get the game going. No warmup.

Between games, we stood around for 15 minutes or so, then took off to do the second game. I needed to do a sprint right away. The legs said, No you don’t. Took some time to get loosened up again.

After the games, I got in the car and headed to McDonalds for some carb replenishment. But no stretching. Two phone calls instead.

I know better. I teach it. But I didn’t do it.

We are like that often in our lives. We know and we don’t do. Our brains can hold both thoughts simultaneously and never see a contradiction. Heck, I’ve seen politicians (nameless for this post) who could say something to one group, something totally different to another and never personally appear self-contradictory. Their brains could hold two dissimilar political ideas yet convince the person that there was no contradiction. The person appeared whole.

Like Paul, I know I need to learn to do what I know is right. It’ll save me much grief.

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What Was Your Intention

March 25, 2014

There is s guy I know who often talks about living with intention—pray with intention, decide with intention, live with intention.

While driving home after a weekend get-a-way Sunday, I rather absent-mindedly set the cruise control on my car. A scenario flashed through my mind in an instant:

Stopped by a Highway Patrol officer, “what was your speed?” “I don’t know. I set the cruise control.” “At what speed did you intend to set it?”

Intention. That was the word.

I shouldn’t just push the button to set the speed when I sort of felt like it was time. I should have given the matter a little thought and then set the speed with intention. OK, so it was 7 over the speed limit…

When you leave home today, is it with intention? Do you intend to meet new people? Help someone? Be kind? Be loving?

My friend suggested praying with intention for things to happen. I once listened to a teacher on a podcast (I think it was Bill Hybels) who said to pray spcifically and with expectation. Pray intentionally that God willl lead the right people into your life.

Sometimes I see people. Look at their demeanor. Look into their eyes. They are lost. Not just in the salvation sense, but just lost. No direction. No motivation. No intention. Just drifting through life. Lost.

Then I see people with living with intention. Living with purpose. Friendly, helpful, doing good.

Choose life with intention, or wind up lost.

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A Little Mindfulness Every Day

February 3, 2014

It is better to master your attention than to have a to-do list.

I try to practice the discipline of Getting Things Done (book by that name by David Allen). The practice is to write down everything on your mind so that it is free to concentrate on the task at hand. You write down ideas about tasks you need to do, projects to be completed, what you’d like to do this day/month/year. Then your mind is empty and you can turn your attention to the immediate task that needs to be done.

Being digital, I use an application called Nozbe (affiliate link) to keep track of and organize my list.

Michael Sliwinski created Nozbe and then started “Productive! Magazine” to write more about practices for Getting Things Done. You can download the magazine to your tablet via the App Store. In a recent issue, Augusto Pinaud discusses the importance of where you place your attention.

Do you focus your attention on the task at hand? Or does your attention drift? In her book “Mastermind: How to Think Like Sherlock Holmes,” Maria Konnikova begins with a discussion of the ability to be mindful–the ability to focus attention. Holmes was observant of the smallest detail because he was mindful–his attention was focused in the present and on what he was seeing.

I believe Jesus exhibited the same characteristic. He took time alone to be with God. When he was with people his attention was focused on people–so much so that he could see right through to their needs and motivations.

There are health benefits to slowing down for 15 minutes or so every day. Just practicing mindfulness, placing attention on the breath or a phrase or a single thought. The spiritual benefits are greater if you place your attention on spiritual things–a story from the Bible, for example.

I thought I’d start off the week suggesting we organize our week around mindfulness, attention, focusing on the right things. I do this to remind myself as much as to teach others.

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Explain Things to a Six-Year-Old

October 15, 2013

I am at another conference. All these conferences feature a keynote speaker–an author, an astronaut, a professional speaker, a motivational person. The person speaking right now is a “futurist.” While researching a book, he ran across a quote from Albert Einstein who said that if you cannot explain your theory in terms a six-year-old can understand, then you are a fraud.

Boy, do I ever run across this problem with people explaining theological concepts. People try to explain the Trinity. OK, just about impossible to make that understandable. People try to explain Jesus, the teachings of Paul, how we should live, and many other concepts. When they are through talking, no one understands anything new.

Karl Barth was a theologian who wrote thousands of pages. His work on the book of Romans was extensive. He wrote thousands of words explaining what Paul wrote in a few hundred.

But…when asked toward the end of his life to sum up his work, he said, (or sang) “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.”

That is the explanation that a six-year-old can understand.

Do you make things too complex?

I know people who take a simple project and, by the time they finish explaining the project it is so complex that no one can understand.

I have actually built a career trying to explain complex technical ideas into words that any educated person (my audience) can understand. Microsoft people have complemented me on my ability to explain embedded operating systems and programming to a general engineering audience.

The point is to challenge you to think about your beliefs and learning and then explain them in understandable terms. Perhaps the exercise of thinking through your beliefs will cause you to throw out prejudices and half-truths and come to reality–the simple truths.

Hint–study Jesus as an example, not Paul. Jesus could go directly into the heart of the matter. Paul–he was a highly educated man. He used 100 words when 5 would work better.

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