In the Moment

My family and I just returned from our annual vacation and we chose to forgo all technology while we were gone. We discovered it wasn't as difficult as it might have seemed and gave us the power to enjoy our time without being distracted. While I did take a few pictures of our week I wasn't caught up in trying to capture every moment for sharing on social media. I didn't spend any time scrolling through status updates, political/social opinions, or Internet rabbit trails leading nowhere. Together we read, sat quietly while watching the ocean, shared stories, and spent time in meditative thought. It was a subdued pace of life that already has me envying the next time we can withdraw.

There is an ago-old philosophical question which asks, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, did it make a sound?" I suppose the parallel to how we live today would be, "If a moment happens and it's not posted on social media, did it take place?" The answer is obvious even if we struggle with how to live without feeling compelled to record all we experience.

Life should be measured in the memories we make and not in likes, shares, favorites, and retweets.

The Measure of My Success

Henry Singleton was the founder of Teledyne and a strong leader with a charismatic personality. His persistent will and passion elevated his company to one of the fastest growing in America and created many admirers of his business acumen. In 1978, Forbes magazine featured his leadership and summed it up with a powerfully revealing phrase: "Singleton will win no awards for his humility, but who can avoid standing in awe of his impressive record?"

While this may have brought him financial gain and admiration from his colleagues, it isn't something I want said about me. I certainly want to see success and to be able to influence people positively, but I don't want to sacrifice humility to make it happen. I may be making this more black and white than it needs to be, but it seems I need to decide if I want my success to be measured by my solely by my accomplishments or by my character.

When you think about it in those terms it doesn't seem like a difficult decision.

To Do

How do you measure the productivity of a day? It's fairly constrictive (and often disappointing) if it's only evaluated by the number of items checked off a to-do list. I need some of that in my life due to my personality, but I can't only determine my effectiveness this way.

Sometimes it's found in taking the time to have a conversation with a friend, stirring up thoughts through well-timed brainstorming sessions, a good run at the end of the day, and taking the time to help your daughter. These aren't "industry approved" measures of productivity, but I feel good about where they have led me today. Sometimes we've accomplished more than we think even when our to-do list doesn't reflect it.

Off Target

We might think that we have a good idea of what we're aiming at and still not make a direct hit. Unfortunately, we can end up being close to what we think is right and even have some measure of success without being right on target. This is a false positive that can blind us from making the right course correction. Sadly, it eventually leads to us saying, "But I thought things were going so well!" when it collapses due to improper aim.

Are we missing the mark with the way we are doing church? Are we focused on the things that God wants us to be focused on or are we following our desires for church? Whose metric are we using to measure our success-our own devised system or God's Holy Spirit? We can put our focus in a lot of very good things and yet end up missing the true target.

What about our families? Are we letting the culture around us dictate what a healthy, successful family looks like or will we determine that vision by where God leads us to utilize our energies & resources? It's imperative that we strive to get this right or we will raise children who are unclear about what matters most.

These are two essential areas for me to focus on in my life. These are where I spend the most time and where the greatest danger of poor aim exist. It's also where the potential for damage from being off target will be most evident if I can't gain the proper perspective.

Measuring our effectiveness by anything other than God is only setting us up for false success and lack of fulfillment.

Remeasuring

At the end of today there will be 77 days left in 2013. I wrote recently about the days that were left in this year (read that here) and how they were challenging me to make the most of what was left. I wrote down some very practical objectives from a personal, family, and ministry perspective. I keep them easily accessible (thank you technology) so that I can read back over them and determine where I'm at in my progress. I'll check back on that list periodically, add an item or two, and even add more detail to existing desires. It's a system of self-accountability and refocusing myself on the things I have decided are important to me.

I don't always like the level of progress that I see and will find that sometimes I am forging powerfully ahead while at other times I am spinning in place without a lot of headway. It's almost easier to write down a lofty list of ideals and never check back on your progress. The truth is that when you take the time to determine your growth, you won't always be pleased with the results. The problem is that if you aren't willing to measure what you're doing, then it doesn't really matter whether you set goals or not.