David’s Thoughts

I’ve been saying for years: “Yeah, eventually I’ll shave my head.” Just one of those things that I was sure I would do eventually. Well, today seemed like a good day. I plunked down $25 on a combination haircutter and beard trimmer. (My old rechargeable beard trimmer was fizzling out anyway.) And I gave myself a haircut. I know what you’re thinking. “wow. that’s heavy.”

But seriously now, there are a couple of significant firsts here. this is the first time I’ve even attempted to give myself a haircut. And this is the shortest haircut I’ve had since I was born.

Ah, you’re thinking “it’s a haircut, not a shaved head.” And you’re right. It’s still not shaved bald. Maybe someday. But for now, I’ll just live with this style for a while and see how I like it. And so far, I do!

(I only look this smug in photos.)

Hopefully that one wasn’t too scary. Don’t get lost in the fuzzy pattern. But wow, look at those ears. Have they always looked that funny?

It’s back to Biking for me.

Many years ago, I was an avid cyclist. (I keep saying biker, but I guess the word is cyclist. I’m not a big guy in a leather jacket riding a Harley. I’m a computer nerd trying to get in shape and save a few bucks on gas. Gotta conjure the right picture here.)

But for the last few years, I’ve been more or less sitting on my butt.

So I finally got motivated or inspired or tired of declining fitness, and went and got a shiny new red bike! It’s Specialized Allez 2007 model. But more importantly, it’s 6 pounds lighter and much better tuned than the other bike I’ve been riding for the past 25 years.

I’ve been riding this new bike for the last week. My endurance is increasing. Next I’ll try to work on speed, and try to maintain higher speeds. I’m not shooting for the Olympics or the Tour, but I am trying to make cycling more of a lifestyle, and replace some reliance on my 19 mpg pickup.

Hopefully I will post more details about my experiences in the future. (umm, like maybe getting used to clipless pedals. My knee is about halfway healed.) But for now, I’ll just say I’m having a blast getting back into cycling.

I just read this post, and I agree very much. Your time is worth so much more than money. And some simple rules can strengthen your good decisions.

Listening

Don’t just have your own thoughts. Learn what other people think too. And don’t stop there. Learn WHY they think that way. What is their background? What led them to think this way? What are the benefits of thinking this way? Don’t interrupt. You’ll have plenty of time to express yourself. Take the time to hear what this other person is saying.

A great way to build someone up, is to listen to them with your full attention. And work to understand what they’re saying. Ask clarifying questions… “Do you mean red like a Ferrarri, or red like a plum?” OK, that was a dumb example, but hopefully you get the point. A person is more willing to hear you, if you have taken the effort to really listen to and understand them.

Thinking

Processing. Process things. Decide what YOU think. Why do you think that? Is that your own conclusion, or did someone else persuade you to believe this?

You just really need to think for yourself. If you let someone else think for you, you’ll end up letting many people think for you. Yes you should listen and understand and be very mindful of your trusted advisors and friends. But in the end, you are the only one who decides what you think. It’s easy to go through the motions of whatever lifestyle you’re in. But how many times do you feel like you really have to think through something before you know what you think about it? I think it’s healthy to do that. I know there are different personality types, some that naturally make quick, instinctive decisions, and others that like to mull things over for weeks. But I’m not really talking about decision-making here. I’m talking mainly about knowing what you think, rather than what you’ve been told to think.

Time Management

This is one thing that I’m probably unduly obsessed with. I log most of my time, every day. Even right now, on my timekeeper, it says “blogging.”

Being aware of how I spend my time, helps me to spend my time more wisely. I, like many people, feel this frustration of just not having enough time to do everything I want to do. Or do you constantly feel tired because you’ve stayed up too late and had to get up early again?

Become attentive to what you’re doing, when you start doing it, when you stop doing it. It doesn’t matter if it’s working, chit-chatting, reading, sleeping, having a beer with some friends, or praying deeply to God. These can all be valid things.

The whole point of time management is to enable you to do the things that you really want to do. That brings up the question that is sometimes harder to answer. What do you really want to do? So that is step one in time management. Identifying your goals, values, mission. Step two is identifying all the action steps that support those goals and values, and organizing those actions into some sort of a time framework. As you look at how you spend your time, the prevailing question should be “do my actions today, yesterday, and tomorrow, support my core values and mission, and my goals?”

Being in control of your time also helps keep you rested, and able to engage more fully in the things that you do.

Of course, there are many circumstances in life that take our control of time away from us. Some times there’s just no way to get the proper amount of sleep. Some times certain things just have to go on the back burner.

But the point here is that developing some time management skills can enable you get get more done, and be more selective about what you do. It’s a skill that can add quality to your life.

Encouraging Other People

Wow, this is (for me) the biggie of the group. I have for a long time considered myself to not be gifted in encouragement. And really, I’m not. I’m analytical. My attention naturally gravitates to things that need to be worked on, fixed, corrected. So I decided I wasn’t going to try to be encouraging. I would work at being a good programmer and worker instead. But there are so many benefits of becoming more encouraging. It’s an investment in those around you. It’s greater connectedness, and really knowing those that you are encouraging.

If someone is good at something, or if they have just succeeded at something that they’re good at, it’s very easy to assume that they are very comfortable with that thing. That they know they’re good, that they feel good about their successes.

But many people, don’t even see their own successes or strengths. I think it’s very human and natural to focus on our own weaknesses and discount our strengths. If you’re good at something, it’s very easy to find someone else who is better than you, thus you downplay your strength. I guess that’s why topics such as self-image and self-esteem are such big issues.

So, you may see someone, and they may appear confident. They may not say much. But you can be pretty sure that they’re well aware of most of their own faults. They may not be aware of their strengths. Or maybe they don’t feel like what they’ve done, or who they are, is valuable, for whatever reason.

OK, so how do I encourage other people? From my experience, not many people do this. It’s hard to find examples. You have to look pretty hard really.

• So, the first thing is, I think, to find and identify people and other sources (books, movies, etc. but real life people are the best) that encourage or inspire you. These are things that make you want to do what’s right, even though it’s difficult or painful. These are people that help you see the beauty of life regardless of the circumstance. Keeping these influences closeby, in your daily routine, will give the concept and vocabulary that you need to be an encourager.
• Highlight someone’s strengths to them. “You have such a great eye for design!” And be sincere. Even if you don’t sound sincere, say it anyway. You can work on the sincere “tone” later.
• Praise somebody even when they’re not around. When word gets back to that person, they’ll get a real boost!
• Recognize a person’s accomplishments and work, even if it’s outside of their special giftings. Doing the dishes and mowing the yard get to be pretty routine. It’s so nice to receive a sincere word of appreciation.

When David (of the Bible) asked King Saul for permission to fight Goliath, Saul dressed David in some traditional battle armor. There were several problems with all that armor. David wasn’t accustomed to wearing ANY armor. The armor was too HEAVY for David. And it got in David’s WAY. David couldn’t use the armor. He was better off using and wearing what he was accustomed to.

Saul’s armor represents PROTECTION and FEAR. There’s nothing wrong with protection. We’re supposed to be careful. Don’t be stupid! And there’s even a healthy level of fear that is good. Where we should NOT go, however, is to the point where our live is controlled by fear. How can I be any good to anybody if my main guiding thought is the protection of what I think I have?

Isreal was gripped in fear and doubt at this point in time. The armor, which is the result of this fear, and is intended to protect the wearer, only got in the way.

Sometimes, instead of thinking about how to protect yourself from injury and hurt, you need to stop looking inward; stop thinking about yourself so much. Instead, look at the actual task and goals at hand. Maybe there is some risk. Maybe your whole life is on the line! But are your protective measures holding you back from achiving the task?? Shedding your armor exposes you. It makes you more vulnerable. But it makes you more agile and capable too. So let God be your armor, and go and do what you know (deep down inside) is right.

Getting un-stuck.

That seems to be a theme of this story. Israel was stuck in an impasse with the Philistines. For forty days they had a daily standoff. Goliath and the other Philistines would come and taunt the Israelites.

I found it impressive that David (up to now, mainly a shepherd and musician) made the CHOICE to fight Goliath. Nobody asked him to. Everybody thought he was nuts for even trying. Yet David felt he MUST do this, and he had complete confidence that he could win.

So, WHY did David feel so compelled to take on this challenge? One thought is that this is the place where Israel was stuck. They were stuck as a nation. If they didn’t win this fight, they would be slaves to the Philistines. They FEARED the Philistines because of their size and strength. David saw this stuckness (is that a word) and could not stand it.

Where are YOU stuck? What is YOUR “Goliath?”

What helped David overcome Goliath?

1. God was with him, and David relied on God.
2. David was in the HABIT of relying on God.
3. David was in the habit of rescuing his animals out of the mouths of wild animals. And large ones! Bears, Lions. Thus, David was in the habit of tackling (and killing) these large wild animals.

So basically, David used skills that he was familiar with, and that he had honed in his daily work. What things are you GOOD at, that you’re in the HABIT of doing? Maybe these can help you overcome your Goliath?

Read the original story at bible.com, 1 Samuel chapter 17