What is the first thing you do in the morning?

What about at stoplights? In the checkout line? Waiting for your flight?

Most of us are digitally connected every waking moment, which raises the question:

What is the content of the news we’re consuming?

It is INSANE to begin your day by looking at your phone or turning on cable news, and INSANE to fill your mind and heart with news throughout your day. The chart above was put together by the folks at Axios and it shows how our media’s constant push of the latest and loudest, and our constant consumption and craving for news, means everything is urgent and nothing is important. Each month there is something THAT EVERYONE MUST HEAR ABOUT AND TALK ABOUT AND WORRY ABOUT…until the next month or next week or next day or next hour, when something else IS THE THING THAT EVERYONE MUST HEAR ABOUT AND TALK ABOUT AND WORRY ABOUT..

From the Axios story:

The news event that saw the largest single spike in Google interest compared to any other event on the list was Hurricane Dorian, which ravaged the Bahamas in early September. 

The runners up: 

1. Game of Thrones final season

2. Government shutdown

3. Jeffrey Epstein and impeachment (tie)

More:

Greta Thunberg, who was unknown at the beginning of the year, received surges of interest in late September and mid-December, giving her more search interest in the last three months than the China trade war, the 2020 presidential election or Brexit.

Allow me to state the obvious: not everything that we’re told to worry about is actually worth worrying about. Not everything we’re told is important actually is.

As you can see illustrated in the chart, the media moves like a pack of wild dogs to the latest news event, and then over to the next event before the previous kill is even cold.

• All consumption, no reflection.

• Everything urgent, nothing important.

• And constant anxiety, because non-anxious people don’t crave novelty

What is this doing to our souls? No wonder our young people are the most medicated and anxious generation in history.

But, there is another way.

I’m aware that the 24 hour news cycle must be filled with something and I’m aware that bad news sells. So, I don’t see any change coming any time soon to our media ecosystem.

But, I don’t need the media to change. I just need to change myself.

The First 15

The single most important thing I can do in 2020 to lead a life of peace and purpose is to spend the first 15 minutes of each day in silence, prayer, and scripture. 

(I call it the First 15.)

I’m recommitting to make the First 15 a keystone habit of my life in 2020.

I’ll spend my First 15 with God, and then let the day come, come what may.

Instead of reacting to fear and anxiety and breathless urgency I’ll be receiving peace and gratitude and the breath of God.

And I’ll be ready for anything.

In 2020 at Munger we’ll begin the year reading slowly through the Book of Genesis. Wanna join me?

Pick up your Genesis reading booklet at Munger on Sunday, or else email me and I’ll mail you one. The readings are 5 minutes a day and only on weekdays.

Having a reading plan helps give structure to your First 15.

To help you get the most out of your reading, I’ll be writing a brief daily post that gets emailed to your inbox at 4 AM every weekday. Sign up here. (If you are already on my Gospels mailing list for 2019, no need to re-subscribe.)

The single most important we can do in 2020 to lead a life of peace and purpose is to spend the first 15 minutes of each day in silence, prayer, and scripture.

Let’s begin our days not be reacting but by receiving.

Who’s in?

(Comment below to make your commitment have more teeth.)