More Radical Tips

In my last blog, I encouraged readers to do something radical: “Stand there, don’t just do something” and choose to live on purpose. Below you’ll find 3 tips on how to do something radical to get different results.

Tip #1-Step back from a hectic day and "pause".

The idea is to honor what you were doing before you move on to the next thing. Pausing, a spiritual practice called "statio" is the desire to do consciously what I might otherwise do mechanically. We spend most of our days moving from one activity to the next without thinking much about it.

Pausing with intention is meant to center us, help us be conscious of what we're about to do, and make us present to the God who is present to us. Pausing is a way to live in the moment.

Go ahead and set your alarm for a “pause” mid-morning and mid-afternoon. Let me know what you’re noticing as you try something new.

Tip #2- Saying “no” is actually saying” yes”

We all live very full lives! We attend to our work demands, and relationship needs, and we try to fit in a few activities that soothe and nurture our souls. Yet, there aren’t enough hours in the day to truly care for our relationship with God.

How can we do it all?

We can’t.

Tip #2 for how to “stand there, don’t just do something,” ...........is to say “no” more often. By saying “no” you are actually saying “yes” to something else. This can be a radical benefit to not doing something, but to pause, stand there and reflect FIRST.

Think about it, if you say “no” to one more activity it could lead to extra space in your day. More space in your day could give you more opportunity to rest your mind and body from working so hard.

If you say “no” to doing one more thing, you could be saying “yes” to your spouse, friends, kids, or yourself. You could have time to pour into the people around you that are important!

Give it a try for 3 days. What can you say “no” to so you can really say “yes” to something that’s important to you?

Maybe God is someone you would like to create more space for? God would love to spend time with you. "The Lord longs to be gracious to you" Isaiah 30:18

Saying “no” could be saying “yes” to God’s grace, love and acceptance. Are you in?

Tip #3- Turn the phone off

I’m reading a book about how to create habits of purpose in our age of distraction. Justin Whitmel Early in his book, The Common Rule “offers four daily and four weekly habits designed to transform frazzled days into lives of love for God and neighbors. These habits are common not only because they are ordinary, but also because they can be practiced in community.”

As I am devouring and savoring this book, I am challenged in many ways. I am reminded that we become what we pay attention to. Some of the ideas in the book stop me just like the statement, “Stand there, don’t just do something.”

My phone is a blessing and a curse. It provides me with the ability to be connected to those I love (family and friends), and work/ministry needs, and I have an open-ended library at my fingertips. But just like Voldemort (Harry Potter books), in his effort to be in multiple places at once, and trying to be present everywhere, he ended up being present nowhere.

When I try to be like Voldemort, eventually, I don’t feel like myself. I’m too scattered and not really present. I’m not at my best.

One radical tactic the author suggests is to turn off my phone. One hour with no phone. That doesn’t seem like it would be so difficult. I thought I’d give it a try. In the hour I turned off my phone, I decided to write this blog post. While doing so, I thought about picking up my phone for multiple reasons (research, pictures to go with the post, thesaurus, and more). Then I thought about actually counting how many times I thought about picking up my phone…..22 to be exact. YIKES!

I didn’t think I went to my phone that much in my day. Boy, was I wrong. I am taking this challenge on for myself. Want to join me? If you do, leave your comments below.