LEARN A LITTLE:
Where is your Wherehouse?
Recently, my wife and I had the occasion to attend an event in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a rather scenic drive from our home in Illinois, and so we drove. In doing so, we took some local roads and detours, but mostly drove on interstate highways 80, 57, 70, 74, 24, and 65. They were among the many roadways we took there and back to Illinois.
Four observations stand out in my mind from taking that trip.
1. Even though most schools were already out for summer vacation, we saw no kids playing outside, at the playgrounds or even on the school grounds.
2. The numerous orange diamond warnings along the highway: “road work ahead” or “left lane closed for the next five miles”.
3. The abundance of semi-trucks, those sixteen wheelers on the road again.
4. The incredible increase in the number of warehouses. Mostly precast one-story cement cathedrals with lots of garage doors.
The fact is that each of these observations captured my attention. I thought about the impact of technology and mobile devices. The failure of our scientists and entrepreneurs to find alternative construction materials for our current roadways. I also thought about the increase in accidents involving trucks. But what stayed with me the longest was the prevalence and proliferation of the warehouses.
They were everywhere. Some were small, but others were massive structures, holding thousands and thousands of products, waiting to be shipped out to someone somewhere. That’s when the thought occurred to me that each of us all have personal wherehouses.
But unlike the physical warehouses of Amazon, for example, ours are mostly invisible. It’s where we store our beliefs and values, where we get our opinions, where we stockpile emotional reactions, where we have stored our personal stories, where we have acquired our understanding of purpose and meaning.
So, here’s a question. Everybody gets their stuff from somewhere. Where are you getting yours?
In related fashion, it also occurred to me that today, there is a much greater emphasis and scrutiny on things like food labels, price tags, car warranties, medication side effects, and even food expiration dates. It seems to me that often overlooked, however, or under examined for that matter, are such issues as where our beliefs and opinions come from. Why do people think the way they do? Who influences them the most? Why? And even where do our strong emotional reactions come from?
There seems to be an irony here. Many people are very careful about what they put into their bodies, but far less careful about where and what they put into their minds.
It is apparent that some warehouses are healthy while others are toxic. Not every warehouse stocks useful products. In fact, some warehouses stock and distribute cynicism, skepticism, fear, anger, prejudice, pessimism and even shallow thinking. Others distribute hope, wisdom understanding encouragement compassion curiosity and kindness.
There are many other aspects of the warehouse metaphor that could be shared, but let me bring these thoughts to a close with the following question: Do we become what we repeatedly retrieve? If we constantly pull inventory from anger, dissension, pessimism, and contempt, these factors are likely to shape our behavior and personality.
Likewise, gratitude, engagement, meaningful relationships, being reflective and self-awareness also would seem to shape us. So, what indeed can happen is that over time, the content of our wherehouses become the content of our character.
In summary, just as modern warehouses distribute their products that shape daily life, our personal wherehouses receive, handle and distribute the ideas, beliefs, emotions and values that shape how we live, lead and relate to others.
Until next time,
Art Dykstra
LAUGH A LITTLE:
REFLECT A LITTLE:
Proverbs 10:23
Doing wrong is fun for a fool, but but living wisely brings pleasure to the sensible.
READ A LITTLE:
Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life
(BenBella Books, 2019)
Nir Eyal
This month’s book selection, Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life, is remarkably practical and helpful. Wouldn’t it be great if each of us could describe ourselves as being indistractable? Our lives would be much more productive whether at home or at our workplace. Eyal is a well-known author, teacher, and consultant. His co-author is Julie Li who is also a cofounder of Nirandfar.com. A feature of the book I especially enjoyed and appreciated were the chapter end notes entitled, “Remember This.” They proved to be excellent content summaries. You will enjoy the many keen insights the authors share with readers.
For example: “I discovered that living the life we want requires not only doing the right things. It also requires we stop doing the wrong things that take us off track.”
Step One
A key point here is that distraction starts from within. Focus is another significant skill to develop in this regard.
Step Two
For me, the pivotal point was to plan one’s time with intention. The related advice was to make time for the things one really wants to do.
Step Three
This very significant point is made and illustrated throughout the book: the magnitude of the impact that external, unwanted triggers make because they create problems in our lives. And by the way, the author does not just focus on digital devices.
Step Four
This step, the use of “pacts” is still another method of helping us do what we intend to do and ward off distractions. Pacts are commitments that we make and adhere to.
Though the book spans 35 chapters, it is very readable. Each chapter adds to our ability to enjoy more planful and productive lives.
In order to keep this blog at a desirable length, I’ve gone through the book and selected several thoughts and ideas to share that I trust will resonate with you.
- Traction is a term that describes the actions we take in pursuit of our life Distractions, on the other hand, are obstacles that slow our progress or interfere with our goals and intentions. It should be remembered that triggers prompt both traction and distraction.
- External triggers prompt us to act with cues from our environment; internal triggers prompt the actions to occur from within.
- Unless we deal with the root cause of our distractions, we’ll continue to find ways to distract ourselves.
- “Distraction it turns out isn’t about the distraction itself; rather, it’s about how we respond to it.”
- “Solely blaming a smartphone for an occurring distraction is just as flawed as blaming a pedometer for making someone climb too many stairs.”
- “If we want to master distraction, we must learn to deal with discomfort.”
- “If you find yourself listening to the little voice in your head that sometimes bullies you around, it’s important to know how to respond. Instead of accepting what the voice says or arguing with it, remind yourself that obstacles are a part of the process of growth. We don’t get better without practice, which can be difficult at times. What we say to ourselves matters. Labeling ourselves as having poor self-control is self-defeating.”
In Chapter 9, the authors share a tool and a technique, which I believe to be very helpful. They refer to it as “timeboxing.” Almost all of us live by to-do lists. Some of us develop these lists the night before, during our morning shower or after getting to work early in the morning. This is obviously a helpful endeavor, but the authors add the dimension of timeboxing, which is placing a dimension of time within your to-do list. Simply said, identifying what you are going to do and when are you going to do it.
Success is defined by the criteria: “Did you do what you said you were going to do when you said you were going to do it?” This format works well for me, but not in a rigid time-clock kind of a way. I generally think about this approach from the perspective of first thing in the morning, after a scheduled meeting, first thing after lunch, or if need be, at three o’clock or some specific time in the afternoon. Such an approach definitely gives one additional traction in achieving goals and being productive.
The authors include many helpful suggestions for preventing external triggers or distractions that are very well worth reading. Finally, depending on your life situation, you may enjoy the last two sections of the book. They made sense to me.
- Part Six: How to Raise Indistractable Children.
- Part Seven: How to Have Indistractable Relationships.