FOCUSED

 

I’ve had a hard time getting to this post.  Every time I start typing, another topic comes to mind and I get that started.  I have a string of post beginnings but none completed.  I don’t know about you, but I have several projects going on at one time.  I wouldn’t call it multi-tasking, but rather multi-doing.  I’m a multi-doer.

 My doctor once called me a Renaissance man; “a man with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge.” (Well, mine may not be so comprehensive).

Consider the different jobs I’ve had: grocery stock-boy; steel worker; lawncare; janitor; radio disk jockey; after-school childcare worker; pastor; counselor; police chaplain; writer; author; speaker; computer consultant; blogger; and more.  I’ve gained a lot of working and life experiences.

To be honest, I’m only a Renaissance man because of YouTube.  I’m a do-it-yourselfer.  I’m willing to attempt things I’ve never done before.  When I was in graduate school, I had lean finances.  Growing up, I depended on my brother for car repairs.  Now I was far away and had to learn car mechanics myself.  So, I bought a repair manual and did my first brake job.  The word got around at school that I was a “mechanic.”  Other students started calling me to work on their cars.  I would say, “I won’t charge you, but if I need a tool to get the job done, you’ll buy it.”  I had a good start on a tool collection.

 Out-of-focus means we don’t see things clearly.  That is why I can’t stand dirty eyeglasses.  The blur makes things look fuzzy.  Now I have cataracts.  Sometimes you don’t notice that your eyesight is changing because it is a slow process.  When you put on your new glasses, what a difference.  Like the song, “I Can See Clearly Now…” 

 

How to stay focused:

1.     Stop making excuses.  I have several physical ailments.  Sometimes it provides an excuse to not finish something.  I have to ask myself, “Am I really that tired that I can’t at least do some writing?

2.    Have an accountability person.  It’s like trying to lose weight.  If you have someone who has joined you on your quest, it becomes easier.

3.    Quit looking at the big picture.  When I buy ear swabs, I buy them in bulk size.  My wife will say, “Why did you get such a large pack?”  I use several swabs a day, who knows how much she uses.  Before you know it, the mountain of swabs becomes a little hill, and then it’s time to re-order.  Buying bulk saves money, and cotton swabs don’t spoil, right? (BTW...We just opened our second, huge box of Costco cotton swabs.  I smile at my brilliance in shopping :)).

4.    Get rid of distractions. My dad was a sports nut. He would read the newspaper's sports page with the radio and TV on to different games.  He would fall asleep on the couch, so I would turn off the TV.  He would wake up and say, “Hey, I was watching that.”  “Really,” I’d say, “What is the score?”  He replied, “Never mind, turn it back on.”

5.     Is there something else contributing to the problem?  I also deal with perfectionism.  We tend to start something but may be afraid to finish it because it may not be “perfect.” 

6.    Perhaps it may be a health issue.  It may be time for a physical and medicine check.  Perhaps your doctor and prescribe something that doesn’t say, “Sleepy, dizzy,” on the bottle.

I’m glad we had this conversation today.  Now I need to put my feet to my own recommendations. 

QUESTION: How do You stay focused?  

Please share your comments by clicking the pencil below.

 

 

AMERICA'S CORN MAZE

 Well, folks, it's that time of year again, Autumn, when the trees turn multi-color and coffee shops serve pumpkin spice coffee.  It's also time for corn mazes, you know when farmers cut mazes in their corn fields and people try to navigate through them.  Most places have maze maps to help in case there are lost adventurers.  Some stubbornly refuse because they claim they don't need maps...until they do!

Imagine if everyone was given a different map, but there was only one true map.  Some might make it through by sheer accident, but most would be at a dead end.  People can claim the right map but that doesn't mean they have the right map.

Mr. Holland's Opus with Richard Dreyfus is one of my favorite movies.  Here is a composer who has to support his trade by working as a teacher.  He is not thrilled about the job, and in the clip below, his principal gives him a piece of her mind:

Mr. Holland is not giving the students direction and an example to show them the way.  Years later, when the principal retires, she has a different message for him.

Remember the corn maze map?   Consider being lost in a wilderness (like the reality show, "Lost.") and someone has given you a compass from a pile of compasses with a different North.  That compass may send you to a place you don't want to go.  At that point, you better send up a flare...if you packed one!

By living in a world where everyone has their own truth, we bump into each other without finding True North.  What is to become of our moral compass and how do we know what is right and true?  We may find sound advice from Fredrick Douglass, a former slave who became a leader of the abolitionist movement in the 1850s and '60s:

"There is no such thing as a new truth:  error might be old or new, but truth is as old as the universe."

To whom can we look for an objective truth?  It was a carpenter-builder from Nazareth who said,  “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

How do we know if Jesus was who he said he was?  And how do we know the Bible is reliable?  Those questions go beyond the limits of this post, but if you are truly interested in knowing the answers, I direct you to the following YouTube videos: The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith

In the meantime, try not to get lost.  It's no fun in the dark!

(Please share your comments by clicking the pencil icon below.  I look forward to hearing from you.)