Practical Tips for the Distracted Soul
This story first appeared on medium.com.
As a father of two young children, I am willing to pay a high price for quiet time. I can relate to the story of Jesus Christ found in Matthew 14, primarily because of the interruptions Jesus experienced while seeking for quiet time.
Jesus learns that John the Baptist has been beheaded by Herod. Departing “by ship into a desert place apart,” Jesus was obviously seeking for quiet… an opportunity to reflect on the life of his friend. But this didn’t last long: “When the people had heard thereof, they followed him on foot out of the cities.”
Ultimately, Jesus has compassion on the multitude. What follows is the miraculous feeding of “five thousand men, beside women and children,” with five loaves of bread and two fish.
It’s important to note, however, that once the multitude has been fed, Jesus sends the people away and goes “up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone.”
If that day wasn’t amazing enough, Jesus descends from the mountain and walks upon the sea in the early hours of the morning, calming the wind (and his disciples’ fears) in the process.
To me, it is significant that periods of silence, though potentially brief, preceded the miracles of the feeding of the 5,000 and walking on water.
Listening to Silence and Learning From It
I’ve begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own. — Chaim Potok
I am a fan of the TV show Survivor. Season 40 recently concluded, and I couldn’t help but reflect on a comment made by one of the show’s contestants, Amber Mariano.
After being voted out early in the game and spending 5 weeks on the “Edge of Extinction,” Amber actually expressed a pang of regret in leaving the desolate island.
Though she had starved, sweat, and bled on that small island, she said that she would miss the quiet and the solitude… There were no distractions. Though she obviously missed her four daughters during her weeks on the show, she found time to reconnect with nature and with her higher power.
It was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and Amber recognized it for what it was.
How I Get More Quiet Time
Just on a practical side, if you wake up early in the morning — like at 4:30 in the morning — you’re going to have some free time to yourself to make things happen, to take care of things that are important to you. If you try and work out at 4:30 in the afternoon, how many people are going to chip away at that time? Your boss, your job, your work, your family, your other obligations that you might have. At 4:30 in the morning, all those people are asleep, so you can do whatever you want. — Jocko Willink
I recently listened to Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. I had been waking up at 5:00 a.m. for months, but I decided to start waking up at 4:30 a.m. after learning that is when Willink starts his day.
As a father of two, working a full-time job, writing on the side, I have found that unless I deliberately make quiet time, I won’t get it.
During those early morning hours I write in my journal, exercise, pray, shower, and read. No one else is awake in my house, so it is a tremendous opportunity for me to think, plan, and reflect.
I can honestly say that creating quiet time has changed my life. It can do the same for you.
It doesn’t matter when you wake up or when you go to bed — that is up to you. What matters is that you’re making time for quiet in your life.
Take A Break
Everybody does their own thing. I’m the leader of this team and I’ve got to be more in tune than anybody, that’s how I approach it. It was hard early on, but I’ve been doing it for a few years now. It is very tough to just be away from everything. It’s just a challenge. I love challenges. — LeBron James
The Dallas Mavericks beat the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals to claim the franchise’s first NBA championship. One year later, at the start of the 2012 playoffs, LeBron James started a social media fast that would last throughout the postseason.
The quote above is from 2015. And to this day, James continues to turn off social media during the playoffs.
James has not won NBA championships every year that he has done his social media fast; but for him, eliminating the noise has allowed him to compete at the highest level.
What could you eliminate from your life today that would allow you to compete at a higher level? Just like James said, it’s tough to cut these distractions out of your life, but it’s worth the challenge.
Silence Helps You Focus
Only through focus can you do world-class things, no matter how capable you are. — Bill Gates
There has never been an era in the history of the world with as many distractions as we face today.
There are people with the capacity to change the world who are mired in the mundane, unimportant tasks of daily life.
As you find a way to disconnect, quiet your mind, and focus, you will take hold of the life you desire.
Though it seems counter-intuitive, try slowing down to accelerate your life. Advancing at a breakneck speed every waking hour of every day is bound to burn you out. Make time for silence, and watch your life transform.