My One Word for 2015

Resolutions don't work. Rather than focusing on a list of specific ways we want to live differently each year, I wrote last year about a better alternative: focusing and living into a one word theme for the new year.

The Most Important Thing I Did in 2014

The single most important thing I did in 2014 was make a habit of getting up early for prayer and exercise. As I've written?previously, that habit was a keystone habit that affected every area of my life last year.Overall, I did better in the first seven months of the year than I did in the final five months, when I found myself busier than I'd ever been in my life. Rather than redoubling my efforts towards my early habit when I needed it most, I let it slide, and therefore so did my prayer life, physical fitness, and sermon quality. (No kidding--I think my early habit helps me be a much more effective preacher.)So, I'm keeping the same word for 2015 as I had for 2014.

My One Word for 2015

My one word for 2015 is?early.I want to:

• wake up early
• pray early
• workout early
• finish tasks early
• get to appointments early
• finish my sermon early (this would be life-changing!)
• get to bed early

What about you? Why? Leave comments below. 

P.S. A Note to My Dear Readers

Dear reader, today is our one year anniversary. I've enjoyed writing for this blog, and though I've been doing it infrequently, I'm interested in writing more regularly in 2015.If?you haven't yet done so, why not sign up to receive updates from me? I promise to only rarely share your info with Russian spammers. (Just kidding--I'll sell it to the highest bidder, regardless of nationality.)You can sign up at the top right of this page.

One Word That Will Change Your Life

What if there were one word that had the power to change every aspect?of your life? What if one word could affect your health, your finances, your marriage, your career? What if applying one word to your everyday life could really have that much of an effect?

The Power of Habit (which isn't our "one word")

Charles Duhigg wrote about habits in his 2012 book?The Power of Habit, which I briefly reviewed here. As Mr. Duhigg explains, your brain develops habits so you don't have to spend energy thinking through decisions--you just act without thinking. An important part of that process is the "habit loop," which works like this:First, there is the?cue‘that triggers the habit;Second, there is the routine?itself;Third, there is the?reward from the routine.

This Is Why You Are Addicted to Your Phone

In practice, the habit loop might work like this:1. Your phone buzzes. That's the?cue.2. You take your phone out and look at it. That's the?routine.3. You get a dopamine hit from the new email. That's the?reward. Note that sometimes the email or notification you get isn't meaningful to you. But, because?sometimes the notification might mean something, your brain still perceives it as a potential reward.The power of the habit loop is evident in the way many of us will interrupt virtually anything else going on in our lives to look at our phones when they buzz. And it's all because of the simple habit loop of?cue, routine, and reward. 

Change Your Habits, Change Your Life

Knowing this about habits, we are able to manipulate them to get the results we want. In some ways, for example, Alcoholics Anonymous is all about replacing destructive habits with healthy ones. (This is why coffee is an important part of so many AA meetings. Coffee becomes part of a replacement habit loop.)Here's the truth: if you are intentional about your habits, you can change your life. 

The Power of a?Keystone Habit

The really interesting part of?The Power of Habit?is the discussion about so-called "Keystone Habits." A keystone habit is a simple habit that has effects that cascade into other aspects of an individual's or a group's life.So, a keystone habits might be:

• Exercising every morning;
• Making your bed every morning
• Having all?players on the team put on their socks in a certain way;
• Putting safety concerns on the top of your corporate agenda.

To think of it another way, a keystone habit is the first domino that falls and knocks down all the others with it.So, a keystone habit in healthy families is having dinner together at home every evening. That simple practice affects the relationship between the mom and the dad and the kids' behavior in school and even their reading level. It's one domino that falls, knocking over a bunch of others.

A One Word Keystone Habit Guaranteed to Change Your Life

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed." (Mark 1:35). [My emphasis.]

"Early"?is a word that can change your life.Early?is about intentionally spending?the first 15 minutes of your day--before doing anything else--in silent prayer and scripture reading.Early?is shorthand for a keystone habit that will affect every other part of your life. Guaranteed. 

Don't Start Your Day Being Reactive

Most of us start our day in this way:1. The alarm goes off. (The?cue.)2. We pick up our phone and check our email, or our Facebook or Twitter accounts, or turn on our preferred news channel, or check on an overnight sports score. (The routine.)3. We get a hit of dopamine as we feel more connected and assure ourselves we haven't missed out on anything. (The?reward.)What's so problematic about this habit is that?it means‘that we are spending the first minutes of our day in a reactive rather than an active pose.

No Wonder We Are Such Anxious People

Do you really want to spend the first minutes you have every day seeing what someone else had for dinner or hearing another depressing headline about the world or worrying about your boss's latest request? Rather than being in control of your day, starting your day by checking headlines or email or social media accounts means you are immediately ceding control to someone or something else.

The Power of the First 15

Now, imagine the alternative.1. The alarm goes off.2. You get up and settle into your favorite chair or sit at the kitchen table or go on your front porch. You deliberately cultivate a sense of gratitude at another day of life. You think over the coming day's appointments and pray for each of them. You read a psalm or a portion of a scripture reading plan. You pray for your family, your colleagues, your city.3. You shut your Bible, close your journal, take a deep breath, and start your day.Can you imagine what could happen if you intentionally started every day like this?Can you imagine how much more control and how much less anxiety you'd have throughout the day?

Don't Worry If You're Not a Morning Person

Everyone has to get up sometime. Even if you aren't a morning person, you can still wake up 15 minutes earlier than you would normally. "Early" means to be deliberate about your first 15 minutes. It doesn't really matter when that 15 is. If you work the night shift, your first 15 could be 4:00 PM. What matters is that you spend your first 15 minutes in silence and scripture.

Don't Worry If You're Not a Religious Person

Even if you don't believe in prayer or scripture, you can still do this. Spend the first 15 minutes of your day thinking of all you have to be grateful for.

5 Steps to Life Change

1. Create a morning routine. Think deliberately through your cue, your routine, and your reward. Maybe you need to set the coffee machine to be a part of your First 15. For me, marking a big fat "X" on a paper calendar is surprisingly satisfying.
2. Create an evening routine. You need to prepare the night before for how you'll spend your First 15 every day. Lay out your Bible; set out your cereal bowl. Whatever it is, your morning routine begins with an evening routine.
3. Plan your time. Don't just get up and see what you want to do. Rather, make a plan to follow a certain reading plan or to pray over a certain list of names or read an online devotional or to deliberately list all the gifts?for which you are grateful that day, etc.
4. Commit for 21 days. Anyone can commit to the First 15 one day, but that's not enough for the habit loop to affect your behavior. Commit for three week?no matter what and see what happens.
5. Evaluate. What's working? What's not working? If you are struggling to make the First 15 a habit, then you should reexamine your habit loop. Is the cue not clear enough? Is the routine not smooth enough? Do you need a better reward?

Pushups Over Time

Following a habit once doesn't make any difference; following a habit for weeks and months and years will change your life. Doing 20 pushups today is irrelevant; doing 10 pushups a day for 100 days will radically alter your health.Being deliberate with your First 15 once might not make a big difference, but even 3 weeks of practicing the "early" habit will make you into a different person.

What do you have to lose?

P.S. Folks in my church are currently following a scripture reading plan called "Eat This Book." Today is the first day of a new book--we're beginning Luke's Gospel today. Why not make a chapter of Luke's Gospel part of your First 15 for the next 3 weeks?

What Trade-Off Do You Need to Make This Month?

As I've blogged about before, I use a paper calendar and a Sharpie marker to keep myself getting up early every morning and getting a workout in. But since the end of August, I now use two calendars(!): one's still my workout calendar, while the other is a scripture-reading calendar that's part of the "Eat This Book" campaign in my church. Here's my scripture calendar for September:Pretty good, right? (It doesn't hurt that I'm trying to blog about the Eat This Book reading every day. I did end up missing a few days last week; maybe I need a blogging calendar, too....)

September Is the Cruelest Month

Unfortunately, I've not been as consistent in working out. In fact, September was my worst month so far this year. Here's my workout calendar for September:What happened? You could say that I became a lazy slob (and you wouldn't be far wrong), but more specifically, here's the truth: I didn't make the trade-offs necessary to get a workout in every morning.

There Are Always Trade-offs

I read a book this summer that reminded me of a principle that I already knew but often choose to ignore: everything in life comes with a cost; everything requires a trade-off. If you say "Yes" here, it means saying "No" there. This principle obviously applies to time management, but it also applies to much bigger life choices. And it's a principle that the Israelites learned at the foot of Mount Sinai and that we can read about in Exodus 33.

What's the Problem With A Little Jewelry?

While Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, the Israelites are having an idolatrous revel?[Exodus 32]. They even make a golden calf and begin to worship it. On returning, Moses is furious, has the golden calf melted down and ground into dust, and then collects all the jewelry that the Israelites possess and forbids jewelry among the Israelites from that point forward [Exodus 33:4-6]. Why? What's the problem with Israelite jewelry?

Every "Yes" Requires a "No"

The Lord knew that if the Israelites kept their pagan gold and other jewelry, they would be tempted over and over again to idolatry, because the original golden calf was made out of the jewelry and ornaments the Israelites were wearing [cf. Exodus 32:1-3]. If the Israelites were going to turn from idolatry, they needed to make a clean break, and apparently even their jewelry might have been an occasion for sin and idolatry.

No Exceptions

There are?always trade-offs, without exception.

• Saying yes to your spouse means saying no to everyone else. Marriage requires exclusivity and priority, or else it doesn't work.
• Saying yes to financial freedom at age 60 means saying no to the kind of expenses your friends are racking up in their 30s.
• Saying yes to sobriety means saying no to hanging out with your bar-hopping friends.

There is no exception to the trade-off principle. There are no short-cuts.

It's a New Month

Today is October 1. What new beginning can you make this month? What trade-off can you intentionally make? What are you going to have to give up in order to get something better? Maybe it's time to take off your pagan jewelry and throw it in the fire. (You do understand that's a metaphor, right?)

P.S.

I got to bed really late last night and really didn't want to get up at 5:00 AM this morning. But more than I wanted to stay in bed, I wanted to have a series of black "X's" in my calendar, and I wanted the first day of the month to be a good one. So I traded a bit more sleep for something better this morning. And here is what I have to show for it: So far so good.

How I Get Things Done

Moses gets productive in Exodus 18. (I know I was supposed to write about Exodus 18 yesterday, but I have a big presentation to make every Sunday morning in front of hundreds of people; dear reader, please forgive.) Since I don't have anything interesting to say about Exodus 18, let's talk about productivity. Almost ten years ago, a friend of mine gave me a book that has been more influential in how I do my work then anything else I've ever read or learned in school. The book was David Allen's 2001 bestseller Getting Things Done.

GTD, Baby

Here's the idea behind the Getting Things Done methodology (GTD for folks in the know):

• you have lots of inputs coming at you all day every day, and you need a way to capture, process, and act on all that data;
• GTD gives you a process to do that.

Capture?Everything

One of David Allen's tips is to learn never to keep anything in your head, but to write everything down. I follow this advice obsessively: as soon as I think of anything, I write it down. I use Omnifocus on the Mac and iOS devices, keep small notepads everywhere, and even carry a small pocket notebook a pocket spacepen with me everywhere.

The Weekly Review

Around every seven days or so, David Allen recommends a "weekly review," i.e., a time when you sit quietly and look over your calendar and review all incomplete projects and next action lists. I try to keep a weekly review on Monday mornings (I'm off on Mondays) and when I do that, my week seems much more manageable and less stressful.

Go For It

If Moses needed a system for productivity, so do you. If you are having trouble keeping your commitments, answering all your email (you know who you are), or sleeping soundly at night, GTD might be for you.

"Less, But Better"

Sure, we're busy, but what are we actually getting done?Rather than getting more done, what about getting the right things done? This is Greg McKeown's suggestion in his book Essentialism. If you are anything like me, asking yourself the question "Where can I make the greatest contribution?" is embarrassing, as you'll be forced to admit that though you are very busy, much of your effort is expended in activity that takes you sideways more than it takes you forward."Less, but better" is the shorthand summary for Mr. McKeown's book--who could argue with that?Like many of these sorts of business/leadership books, Essentialism is a bit too long and contains a fair amount of filler--as if the author had a page quota he needed to hit--but I still found it worth reading. I particularly liked Mr. McKeown's insistence that every part of life involves a trade-off; instead of thinking we can avoid problems altogether, we ought to be asking ourselves, "Which problem do I want?"Short, easy read. Recommended.What can you say "No" to this week? (Very politely, of course....)

My Own Blood Never Looked So Good

(I had my wife take this picture--I want to remember today.)

We're about halfway through 2014. How are you doing on your goals for the year? 

Pull-ups

One of my goals for the year was to do 20 strict pull-ups, unbroken. ("Strict" means straight pull-ups without any swinging or "kip;" "unbroken" means 20 without coming off the bar.) This was a stretch goal for me, because at the end of 2013 I could at most do 1 or 2 pull-ups, even with a kip. My whole life had been like that: I've always been bad at pull-ups.As I've mentioned previously on this blog, I've been ruthless this year about getting up and working out early in the morning every day. Often, my morning workout called for pull-ups, and whenever that was the case, I'd use a resistance band to make them easier. But this morning, I decided to try the workout (which called for pull-ups) without a band. Over the course of today's workout, I ended up doing 60 pull-ups (in sets of 10, broken up by?other exercises), but the best part was that I was able to do the first set of 10 unbroken! (I ended up tearing my hands, but it was worth it.) So, I think my goal for the year is definitely possible.I know it doesn't sound like much, and for some of my dear readers my lowly pull-up total is a joke, but for me this morning was a big deal. I've never been so satisfied to see my own blood as I was this morning. 

6 Months Left in 2014

On some of my other 2014 goals I've made similar progress, on others I have some ground to make up. Either way, as difficult as the discipline of pursuing goals is, the satisfaction of accomplishment outweighs the difficultly.So, what will you use these next 6 months to accomplish? Memorize a psalm? Run a 10k? Save $1,000? Let me know in the comments, below.  

Ordination Day

 Today was a red-letter day.I don't remember my granddaddy baptizing me.I do remember my confirmation, kneeling on the lumpy pad at the communion rail in my little church, my dad--my pastor--placing his hands on my shoulders, charging me with living into the faith that the saints in the church had passed down to me.I remember my wedding day.I remember when my son was born.And I'll remember today, my ordination day. A Red Letter Day.It's very late and I have to get up early tomorrow, but here are some unsystematic thoughts on my ordination:

• It was a beautiful worship service. When I was at the communion rail listening to the choir sing and waiting for my turn to mount the steps and kneel and receive my ordination, I felt my heart would break at the beauty and power of the music and the words and the occasion.
• It's a powerful thing when the bishop places his hands on your head and commands

"David Andrew Forrest, take authority as an elderto preach the Word of God,to administer the Holy Sacraments,and to order the life of the Churchin the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

• The responsibility feels heavy. I am now responsible for passing on the faith of the saints and the martyrs to my people. What is it Isaiah says, "Woe is me, for I am a man of unclean lips, from a people of unclean lips"? It's a serious business.
• I was convicted by the visiting bishop's sermon: the most important thing you can do is to love your people. The people at Munger, the people in East Dallas--they are the ones the Lord is asking me to care for. They are my people, and I am going to be held responsible one day for how well I loved and cared for them.
• I do actually feel different, now having been ordained. Even though few specific things in my life will change, still, something is different. I think I feel the responsibility more, and the power of it more. The bishop prayed for the Holy Spirit to pour out on me to give me strength--I'll remember that the next time I'm discouraged or feel weak.
• I felt the same on my wedding day, and numerous times since then: I am abundantly blessed to have a wife like I do, one who feels called to be my partner in ministry. We are in ministry together. She's quieter, kinder, and more faithful than me, and though I get the attention, without her, I'd struggle.
• ?My parents flew in tonight for the service and leave tomorrow. My dad is an ordained minister, as was my grandfather. I was overwhelmed during the service, thinking about what a gift my parents gave me: the gift of faith. They took their own baptismal vows seriously and raised me in the church and taught me about Jesus. It is literally a priceless gift.
• Ordination by the laying on of hands goes all the way back to Peter and Paul and Jesus himself. Amazing. The bishop who ordained me was once ordained by the laying on of hands, as was the bishop who ordained him, and so on, all the way back for 20 centuries.
• I feel totally unworthy, and at the same time really motivated to run the race set before me with endurance.
• My church and I have done this together and we are growing together.
• It was really humbling to see so many Mungarians there tonight. My wife and I constantly say to each other, "What did we do to deserve such great people, such a great church?"
• God is good, and I am so very very thankful.

My Low-Tech Secret to Getting Up Early Every Day

  I skipped my 6:00 AM workout this morning for only the 3rd time since December 21, 2013. I've been ruthless these past 6 months about getting up early and getting a workout in.Consistently getting up early will change your life. But, it's difficult. Here's?my secret:I take a black marker and mark an "X" through that day's square on my calendar every morning when I return from my workout. It is surprisingly satisfying to make that mark each day, and to look back and see the series of "X's" earlier that month makes me feel as if I'm really accomplishing something.I get up every morning between 5:00 and 5:30 AM; some (most?) mornings, I'd much rather roll over and go back to sleep. But, knowing that the day's calendar will lack a fat "X" through it if I don't get up and go has given me the motivation to overcome the desire to go back to sleep.This technique will work for other things, too.Want‘to give up Coke?Pray every day?Stop watching?The Bachelor?Try the calendar technique and let me know how it goes. ?I have a bad shoulder and needed a rest day today. Still, part of me wishes May 22 had a big "X" through it....? I get up early on Sundays, too, but I don't workout on Sundays, and so I don't mark through the day. Plus, I like making Sundays different, set apart. 

My Not-Too-Impressive 2013 Reading List (& Why You Need a Reading Plan for 2014).

My goal was to read 50 books in 2013 ; I didn't come even close: 23. I had read somewhere about some guy wanting to read 50 books in the coming year, so I decided to adopt his goal, and I'm glad I did, even though I fell so far short. I learned last year that I need to be more intentional in my reading. I've never looked back on an evening spent watching tv or browsing online and thought, "I'm SO glad I spent my time like that," but I have definitely been blessed by turning off my screens and focusing on a book. So, this year, I'm going for it again: I want to read 50 books in 2014. What about you? If you don't set a goal, you are GUARANTEED not to achieve it. Why not try to intentionally read more in 2014?

My 2013 reading list is below. (Reading over it now, I know I'd like to include more fiction and literature in my 2014 reading diet.)

Highly Recommended

What it Takes: The Way to the White House, by Richard Ben Cramer.

Comment: If you love politics (as I do), you must read this. Over 1,000 pages on the 1988 presidential campaign. Cramer had unprecedented access to the 8 leading candidates, and the book is just remarkable. Worth pushing through all the way to the end. I read it on summer vacation, and am so glad I did.

The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller.

Comment: Violent, terrifying, brutal, beautiful. I think about this novel all the time. Highly recommended (but don't read before bedtime--you won't want to put it down, and then you won't be able to sleep).

The Circle Maker, by Mark Batterson.

Comment: recommended for sure, particularly if you are struggling a bit in your faith. His basic argument: we should pray passionately and persistently, asking the Lord for big things. Who doesn't need to hear that?

Mr. Ives' Christmas, by Oscar Hijuelos.

Comment: I read it the weekend before Christmas, after seeing it mentioned on Rod Dreher's blog.

Others, in no particular order

One Word That Will Change Your Life, by Dan Britton, Jimmy Page, and Jon Gordon. Comment: see previous post here.

Scouting the Divine, by Margaret Feinberg.

The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg. Comment: really interesting stuff, particularly the historical and social examples. (I'm thinking of the stuff about Paul O'Neil at Alcoa and the kebab vendors in Iraq.) I think the stuff about "keystone habits" is particularly useful. The book is a bit too long, but I recommend it.

Give and Take: A Revolutionary Approach to Success, by Adam Grant.

Who Is This Man? by John Ortberg. Comment: Loved the simplicity and power of Ortberg's central question: "How did an unknown Galilean carpenter, who didn't lead and army, write a book, or rule a kingdom, become the most influential person in history?

24/6, by Matthew Sleeth. Comment: you get the point from the title, but it never hurts to think more about sabbath.

The Forever War, by Joe Haldeman.

Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card. Comment: I knew nothing about the book, but hearing that the movie was coming out, I wanted to read it. The first 3/4 are excellent. The stuff about his siblings is a distraction, and I don't think the final 1/4 is that great, but I'd still recommend it if you are interested in science-fiction.

Deep & Wide, by Andy Stanley. Comment: If you are involved in church leadership at any level, definitely recommended.

The King Jesus Gospel, by Scot McKnight.

Paris in the Fifties, by Stanley Karnow. Comment: title says it all. Really interesting sketches of French life in a time that will never return. A bit too long, but I enjoyed it.

Entreleadership, by Dave Ramsey.

11: Indispensable Relationships You Can't Live Without, by Len Sweet. Comment: not recommended, though I did get a sermon series idea out of it.

The Treasure Principle, by Randy Alcorn.

The War of Art, by Steven Pressfield.

How Do You Kill 11 Million People? by Andy Andrews.

Willpower, by Roy Baumeister and John Tierney.

The Virtual Assistant Solution, by Michael Hyatt.

Why Men Hate Going to Church, by David Murrow.

What's Your One Word for 2014?

Resolutions don't work. So, rather than focusing on all the ways we want to live differently in 2014, a little book?I read recently suggests we'd be better off focusing on a one word theme for the year and live into it.What's your one word?For 2014, mine is "early."I want to:

• wake up early
• pray early
• workout early
• finish tasks early
• get to appointments early
• finish my sermon early (this would be life-changing!)
• get to bed early

What about you? Leave comments below.