#ThoughtsFromTerry Dispatch w.22.2018
Dispatch w.22.2018
Does a week-long, 20-year anniversary trip to Scottsdale, AZ happen if it is not on Facebook or Instagram?
Yes, yes it does. And actually, the crazy part about it is that life happens even when we are not stuck wandering in a social media feed or glued to our phones! Last week Robin and I celebrated our 20 year anniversary and decided to get away for a week in the beautiful town of Scottsdale. The trip was fantastic for so many reasons, but most was being away and spending dedicated quality time with Robin. We decided this was going to be an “off-the-grid” trip, so we both turned off, and left our phones at home. We had a few off-the-grid exceptions, 1) The Bible App 2) Photos 3) Emergency phone/text that very few people had. So, with these exceptions, I reset my iPad and added the Bible App for Robin, and I took my second device, a Samsung S8 with the Bible App and a great camera. For the most part, we were off-the-grid except for things happening daily with the selling and buying of a new home. The week was glorious and nearly distraction free.
Off-the-grid felt terrific, and I honestly struggled coming back online. This struggle makes me think of “Embrace the Friction”, a term often used by Brandon Donaldson, a friend and team member at Life.Church. I usually apply this term to my life because I tend to massively swing in or out of habits or behaviors when I desire new outcomes. For example, my tension with social media creates one desire inside of me...dump it. A massive swing that throws out the baby with the bathwater because that seems much more straightforward. I see the value of social media, but I also see the distraction and honestly destruction it has as well. Friction.
I don’t have a solution, or all my thoughts together on this area of my life. However, I am deep in friction with it and know it's an area in which I must get better, and lead stronger.
Mark 4:24 - “Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given — and you will receive even more.
INTERESTING ARTICLES
We are all trapped in the “Feed”
Om Malik
Put The Damn Phone Down and Do Something
John Battelle
'Our minds can be hijacked': the tech insiders who fear a smartphone dystopia
Paul Lewis
Google wants Android P to be less addictive
Harry McCracken
RECOMMENDED BOOK
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
- by Cal Newport
Deep work is the ability to focus without distraction on a cognitively demanding task. It's a skill that allows you to quickly master complicated information and produce better results in less time. - Amazon - Audible -
PROVERBS 4:23
Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. - GNT
Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. - NIV
Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. - AMP
