Remove Distractions, build community and serve others
Ways to stay focused each day.
Ditch distractions by creating boundaries. How often are you distracted? It has been estimated that the average American adult spends 47% of every waking hour with their mind wandering. When it comes to guarding what is valuable in our lives, we set up boundaries and constraints to make sure those valuables are protected, even from themselves. For example, if you have a dog, you know you cannot trust your dog to stay by your side while you go on a walk. That’s why you put them on a leash. No matter how great your dog is, their instinct is to chase a squirrel, a cat, or really anything that distracts them, even if it means putting themselves in danger. A leash is a constraint that protects a dog from itself.
In the same way, we need to set up constraints and boundaries in our lives to protect ourselves from ourselves. We so easily forget that Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else and incurable.” As D.A. Carson put it, “People do not drift toward holiness … we drift toward disobedience.” That means we do not drift toward spending time with God; we drift toward distraction and letting other things fill our minds.
And in our day and age, distraction is always creeping around the corner. Our attention is the most valuable commodity for businesses and marketers, and they want to do everything they can to capture our attention. Which means we must do everything we can to control what we give our attention to.
Philippians 4:8 says: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”
Cut out mindless screen time and doom scrolling and instead cultivate cognitive practices that help nourish your well-being.
Proverbs 4:25-27 says: Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
Get a handle on our emotions
Regulated emotions are essential for our overall well-being. They are critical for decision-making, learning, and connecting with others. Know that you don’t always have to feel happy and that Jesus Himself expressed a wide range of emotions from anger to sorrow. Monitor how you feel, name it with nuance, and view it as a signal instead of a weakness. Share your feelings with others and know that you are always in charge of how you react.
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
If you are suffering from loss, grief, depression, anxiety, or overall feelings that are causing distress or impacting your functioning, consider seeking professional help. Understanding and coping with your emotions is a skill that gets better with practice.
Nurture relationships and build community
Relationships are really good for us. One of the largest predictors of well-being is our quality of relationships with others.
Jesus was an example of how important it is to have a group of friends and a support system. This kind of support system has been declining rapidly in our technological times.
Think of ways you can strengthen and expand your community. How can you deepen your relationships? How can I develop new friendships? What is a fun way you would like to start connecting with others? Keep in mind, that the best way to have great friendships is to be a great friend.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Focus less on yourself
One of the greatest ironies of well-being is that the more we focus on serving other people and making it about them instead of ourselves, the happier we become. Think of ways you can serve other people this year. Get creative in how you can reach out to people who may be struggling and show them support. It can be as simple as a quick text or note of encouragement. We suffer a lot less when we focus on the suffering of others instead of ourselves.
1 Corinthians 10:24 reminds us that “no one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”
At the end of my life, I want people to say that I made time for them and that I sacrificed for the sake of others. No one is going to be crying over the fact that I knew everything about this season’s “Dancing with the Stars” when my life is over. I want my time to have mattered.
When we look at the books of 1 & 2 Timothy, we see Paul’s relationship with Timothy and the personal nature of the letters. We know from history that this relationship wasn’t brand new – it was well-established and had taken place over the course of about 20 years. Paul writes in a personal way to Timothy because he knows him. These two men had walked through a season of life together, and it’s obvious. This came about because Paul made time and Timothy was willing. In the introduction of each book, Paul refers to Timothy as “my true child in the faith” (1 Tim 1:2) and “my beloved child” (2 Tim 1:2). When Paul writes to Timothy about godlessness that is coming in the last days he says, “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant…” (2 Tim 3:2). Being a lover of self is considered godlessness. Ouch. This is a huge call for us to make a change. He’s admonishing Timothy, and there’s a lot we can learn from this challenge.
Pray that we can refocus and refuel and ultimately help serve our Heavenly Father and others in love.
Ditch distractions by creating boundaries. How often are you distracted? It has been estimated that the average American adult spends 47% of every waking hour with their mind wandering. When it comes to guarding what is valuable in our lives, we set up boundaries and constraints to make sure those valuables are protected, even from themselves. For example, if you have a dog, you know you cannot trust your dog to stay by your side while you go on a walk. That’s why you put them on a leash. No matter how great your dog is, their instinct is to chase a squirrel, a cat, or really anything that distracts them, even if it means putting themselves in danger. A leash is a constraint that protects a dog from itself.
In the same way, we need to set up constraints and boundaries in our lives to protect ourselves from ourselves. We so easily forget that Jeremiah 17:9 tells us, “The heart is more deceitful than anything else and incurable.” As D.A. Carson put it, “People do not drift toward holiness … we drift toward disobedience.” That means we do not drift toward spending time with God; we drift toward distraction and letting other things fill our minds.
And in our day and age, distraction is always creeping around the corner. Our attention is the most valuable commodity for businesses and marketers, and they want to do everything they can to capture our attention. Which means we must do everything we can to control what we give our attention to.
Philippians 4:8 says: “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.”
Cut out mindless screen time and doom scrolling and instead cultivate cognitive practices that help nourish your well-being.
Proverbs 4:25-27 says: Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
Get a handle on our emotions
Regulated emotions are essential for our overall well-being. They are critical for decision-making, learning, and connecting with others. Know that you don’t always have to feel happy and that Jesus Himself expressed a wide range of emotions from anger to sorrow. Monitor how you feel, name it with nuance, and view it as a signal instead of a weakness. Share your feelings with others and know that you are always in charge of how you react.
Romans 15:13 says, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
If you are suffering from loss, grief, depression, anxiety, or overall feelings that are causing distress or impacting your functioning, consider seeking professional help. Understanding and coping with your emotions is a skill that gets better with practice.
Nurture relationships and build community
Relationships are really good for us. One of the largest predictors of well-being is our quality of relationships with others.
Jesus was an example of how important it is to have a group of friends and a support system. This kind of support system has been declining rapidly in our technological times.
Think of ways you can strengthen and expand your community. How can you deepen your relationships? How can I develop new friendships? What is a fun way you would like to start connecting with others? Keep in mind, that the best way to have great friendships is to be a great friend.
1 Thessalonians 5:11 says, “therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Focus less on yourself
One of the greatest ironies of well-being is that the more we focus on serving other people and making it about them instead of ourselves, the happier we become. Think of ways you can serve other people this year. Get creative in how you can reach out to people who may be struggling and show them support. It can be as simple as a quick text or note of encouragement. We suffer a lot less when we focus on the suffering of others instead of ourselves.
1 Corinthians 10:24 reminds us that “no one should seek their own good, but the good of others.”
At the end of my life, I want people to say that I made time for them and that I sacrificed for the sake of others. No one is going to be crying over the fact that I knew everything about this season’s “Dancing with the Stars” when my life is over. I want my time to have mattered.
When we look at the books of 1 & 2 Timothy, we see Paul’s relationship with Timothy and the personal nature of the letters. We know from history that this relationship wasn’t brand new – it was well-established and had taken place over the course of about 20 years. Paul writes in a personal way to Timothy because he knows him. These two men had walked through a season of life together, and it’s obvious. This came about because Paul made time and Timothy was willing. In the introduction of each book, Paul refers to Timothy as “my true child in the faith” (1 Tim 1:2) and “my beloved child” (2 Tim 1:2). When Paul writes to Timothy about godlessness that is coming in the last days he says, “For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant…” (2 Tim 3:2). Being a lover of self is considered godlessness. Ouch. This is a huge call for us to make a change. He’s admonishing Timothy, and there’s a lot we can learn from this challenge.
Pray that we can refocus and refuel and ultimately help serve our Heavenly Father and others in love.
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