Becoming Yourself

Developing a Better You

Category: Mind (Page 20 of 50)

Feeling Crushed by the Weight of the World? Choose to Be Amazed

March 19, 2022 / / 2 Comments

Living in these turbulent times is difficult. A global pandemic. Economic downturn. Political division. Racial injustice. Social unrest. The collective pressure of these external stressors can feel like concrete blocks on our shoulders that we can’t seem to drop.

One simple technique that has helped me slip out from under the weight of the world is shifting my attention from the macro to the micro. Intentionally tuning in to the small and everyday instead of the huge and glaring. I’m not talking about turning a blind eye to the problems we collectively face or ignoring the responsibility to do my part to help solve them. I’m talking about balancing that view with a renewed focus on the wonder of commonplace things.

The sweet warmth of my morning tea. The beautiful deep green color of our corner houseplant. The comfortable feeling of sliding into my well-worn slippers. The way the painting on our living room wall glows in the afternoon sun. The playfulness in my wife’s smile. The mind-boggling complexity of my hand. The taste of cherry pie. Opening my mind to the simple wonders around me provides a welcome counterbalance to the heaviness of the world. It brings wholeness to my perspective.

The celebrated philosopher and theologian Abraham Joshua Heschel said it better than I ever could:

“Our goal should be to live life in radical amazement… get up in the morning and look at the world in a way that takes nothing for granted. Everything is phenomenal; everything is incredible; never treat life casually. To be spiritual is to be amazed.”

abraham joshua heschel

I make this practice part of my daily routine. In the mornings, I slip out to our balcony and spend some time in meditation, prayer, and reading. Often I’ll start by intentionally noticing a few simple things around me and letting myself be gratefully amazed by them. Before bed, I’m back on the balcony, remembering the commonplace wonders I encountered throughout the day. This simple habit is usually enough to help me begin each day with a positive attitude and end it with a healthy realignment of my perspective.

What are the everyday wonders around you? When you pause for a moment to look, what catches your eye? What awakens amazement in you? As you learn to see life with simple awe, you’ll feel the weight of the world begin to slip from your shoulders, and you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.

This post was originally published in July of 2020.

Find Peace Through Simplicity (part 2): Your Time

February 19, 2022 / / 0 Comments

My wonderful readers – I am working hard on the revisions requested by my editor for my debut novel which will publish next summer with Penguin Random House (more details to come in future posts!). So for a few weeks, I’ll be mining some popular posts from previous years. This one was originally published October 24, 2020. Thank you so much for your support and understanding! I hope you find this helpful on your journey toward Becoming Yourself.

In my last post, I told the story of how simplifying my relationship with material possessions has led to greater peace and significant life change. You can read it here.

The story doesn’t end there. Just as I fell for the advertising lie that more stuff equals more happiness, I used to buy into the idea that a filled schedule is better than minimal one. “I’m squeezing the most out of life” and “Look how busy and important I am” became subconscious mantras I told myself to justify my overcommitted calendar.

I’ve been amazed at how well the lessons of simplicity I learned about my stuff have worked when applied to my time. Decluttering my possessions led to decluttering my schedule. Saying no to impulse purchases led to saying no to impulse commitments. Less stress and greater freedom with my finances led to less stress and greater freedom with my schedule.

Most of us love the idea of more free time and fewer commitments, just as most of us love the idea of an organized and decluttered house. But we don’t drift into either of those things. It takes intentionality. Without vigilance, our schedules can gradually fill up with commitments just like our homes can gradually fill up with possessions.

When my wife Lisa and I moved from a big house in Arizona with lots of stuff to an apartment in California with not much stuff, I chose to make a fresh start with my commitments. I started with a blank slate, then added things to my schedule thoughtfully, realizing the beauty of calendar space. I prioritized the things that really matter to me, like relationships, creativity, and serving, by using the same criteria for my commitments that I applied to my possessions – true utility or real joy. Lisa helped keep me honest. Now with margin in my schedule, I have time to deal with the unexpected things life throws my way and look forward to the few things I do agree to.

If there’s one positive thing that’s come from COVID-19, it may be that the canceling of so many of our regular events, commitments, and activities has forced us to reexamine our relationship with them. What is really most important to us? How do we actually want to spend our most precious resource – time?

What would your schedule look like if you could start over? Here’s an exercise to find out. Begin with a blank canvas, hypothetically eliminating everything. Due to coronavirus restrictions, that may even be close to your reality right now. Then carefully put back one commitment at a time. Leave nothing unquestioned, even your work schedule. You probably can’t quit your job, but is there a way to get the time requirements closer to where you want to be? Are you able to cut back or work more from home for greater flexibility and no commute? If not, ask the harder question of whether or not you’re in the right career long term.

For commitments you decide you want or need to keep, do they require their current frequency? Could you reduce some of your daily commitments to weekly, weekly to monthly, or monthly to quarterly? When COVID-19 restrictions lift, do your kids really need to be in soccer and band and karate? Is that actually good for them? For your family? When our kids were younger, my wife and I allowed them each one extra-curricular activity at a time. It truly saved our sanity.

Decluttering your schedule will provide many of the same benefits as decluttering your home. You’ll feel lighter, calmer, freer, and more peaceful. Saying no to “good but not best” things will open up time to say yes to things you really value. Sit down with your calendar today. Ask your significant others to help you and invite them to try it themselves. If you do, you’ll soon find more margin and peace, you’ll take another step toward Becoming Yourself.

The Real Point of Celebrating New Year’s

January 1, 2022 / / 0 Comments

What’s the point of celebrating New Year’s anyway?

It’s a milestone, a way of marking time. A chance to look back over a segment of our lives with fondness or regret. An opportunity for reflection, to see how (or if) we’ve grown personally. A convenient bookend to Christmas which extends the holiday season. An excuse to celebrate and have a good time.

Those are all valid reasons. But I think there’s a deeper one, an underlying theme that ties them all together. One that all of us long for but most of us rarely talk about with any depth.

It’s hope. I believe we celebrate New Year’s because we’re longing for hope. Hope that the coming year will be better than the last. This typically manifests itself in three ways:

1. We hope THE WORLD will be better.

That Covid will fade. Political division will ease. Racial tensions will improve. Economic disparity will lesson.

2. We hope OUR LIVES will be better.

Less stressful. Less difficult. More enjoyable. More fulfilling. Healed relationships. An improved work situation.

3. We hope that WE will be better.

More confident. More loving. More patient. More passionate. More compassionate. More alive.

So here’s the real question:

How realistic are those hopes?

I’m an optimist by nature and choice, but if I’m honest about my hopes for THE WORLD, things are looking grim. Unless our vaccination rates increase, Covid is sticking around for awhile. While the U.S. political landscape feels calmer than in recent years, it appears as fractured as ever. A broader acceptance of the ongoing impact of racism is helpful, but we have a long road ahead toward deep cultural change. Until those at the top choose to invest in and share with those at the bottom, the wealth gap will continue to grow, to the detriment of us all.

There are things I can do to bring about my hopes for THE WORLD. I can get vaccinated, commit to civil discourse and open-mindedness on political issues, acknowledge my own racial privilege, support policies for a more just economy and give money to quality charities that work to end global poverty. But even with all that, my impact will be relatively small.

My odds of actualizing my hopes for MY LIFE are better. I can scale back on my commitments, adopt a greater work/life balance, spend more time on life-giving hobbies, pursue a more enjoyable career and invest in meaningful relationships. But many things remain outside of my control—layoffs, illnesses, accidents and the choices of others can all seriously impact my quality of life.

That leaves me with my hopes for becoming a better version of MYSELF. Physically. Spiritually. Mentally. Emotionally. These are largely within my control. Improvements in this arena are ones that no one can take away from me. But no one can make them for me either. I can choose to act more loving and my feelings will follow. I can choose moderate exercise and mindful eating and I’ll feel better physically. I can grow spiritually by committing to a regular time of positive reading, meditation and communicating with my higher power. I can become more passionate by discovering and investing time in life-giving activities. I can become more compassionate by volunteering and giving money away.

So as you celebrate the New Year, think about your hopes. Do your small but important part to bring about your hopes for THE WORLD. Make minor and major changes to actualize your hopes for YOUR LIFE. But invest the lion’s share of your energy and attention to breathe life into your hopes for YOURSELF. Into becoming a better you. Because when YOU are better, your LIFE will improve, and you’ll set an example for others that can quite literally change the WORLD. If you do, you’ll take another giant step toward Becoming Yourself.

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