This year, I’ve done two things that have helped me not get lost in the busyness as much.

The first thing we did was take my 15 month old daughter to the mall and pick up a tag to get a child in need a Christmas gift. There was something special about explaining to my daughter that we are helping someone just because we can and it would be special for them, even though we will never meet this person.

The other thing that helped me focus on the Christmas season was shooting a short piece with preschool kids talking about Christmas. It was kinda a last minute project that I rushed through. After it was done, I watched it through and remembered the magic of the season as the kids told the Christmas story.

Check out what the kids had to say!

And don’t forget the reason for this crazy season!

Or maybe I’ve been missing Yoda’s point. Maybe it’s not about the effort or intensity that we put towards a task. Maybe “doing” isn’t just a matter of attaining the desired outcome. Maybe it’s a matter of trying softer.

Generally, when we want to accomplish something, we work really hard to make it happen. I think that’s what Yoda meant by “try.” We push forward with all we’ve got to reach our goal. And sometimes that trying isn’t enough. But instead of keeping at it the same way we’ve done before, maybe we need to try softer.

I month or two ago, I started to read the book The Me I Want to Be by John Ortberg. It’s a spiritual formation book that isn’t the same sort of self-help book as I’ve read before. It really helps you look at you. One of the concepts that I got to before the book got lost in a pile of junk at work was the idea of trying softer.

In part, trying softer is about looking at yourself and evaluating the inhibitors—or barriers—that stand between you and your goal. Identifying your inhibitors empowers you to be able to be aware of the things that keep you back. Too often, in our attempts to try harder, we overlook the causes of our failure.

Back to Star Wars. Why did Luke keep failing? Was it because of his lack of effort? Definitely did no look that way. I think he was hung up on his efforts to accomplish what Yoda was asking. His inhibitor was that he was focusing on himself. The thing that Yoda really wanted was for Luke to jump into the flow of the Force and allow himself to be swept along by it’s current.

And now back to reality with me. Trying softer is really about finding your rhythm of productivity and growth and allowing that rhythm to move you while being conscience of the inhibitors that pull you out the flow.

With the diversity of my job responsibilities, I’ve been struggling to find my flow the last few weeks. So this week, I’m taking some time to look at what is holding me back and how to orchestrate my time to keep me in the flow as much as possible. There is a world that needs changing, and I don’t want my lack of productivity to get in the way!

I’d encourage you to think about an area in your life where you need to get “in the flow.” What is holding you back? What can you do to not try harder, but to try softer?

P.S. I do realize that the Yoda statement is out of context from what he necessarily was meaning, but it was a starting point for my thought.

And I’ve got to say, they really make you think about where you are in life and what you want to get out of it. For those who want to do a little self-reflection and contemplation, below are some of the questions.

• What do you want more of in life?
• What do you want less of in life?
• If resources, consequences, or failure wasn’t an issue, what would you be doing now? How would you change the way you live?
• What are a couple of your big dreams?
• What is getting in the way of living the life you want?
• What’s best about your marriage/family life?
• What’s most important to you in your job?
• What brings you 80% of your joy (in leadership)? What brings 80% of your stress?
• What are your dreams for your business/company?

The thing that sucks about learning by experience is at times you fail. Or often, in my case. With the failures, you pickup nuggets of wisdom, techniques, or approaches that will help you down the road. And then there are those other failures… the ones where any possible lesson to be learned is inconceivable (and yes, I know that word can’t be used without making you think of Princess Bride).

Well, this past week was one of those where experience kicked my butt. And part of my therapy is sharing them with you.

6 Lessons From A Long Week

1. Don’t think a project that you had 2 weeks for last time can be done in 3 days without lots of planning.
2. Don’t let advice of others steer you away from your vision for a project. Stay true or else you won’t be happy with the product and you may lose your desired impact. Trust your gut.
3. You don’t always need new to make an impact. Sometimes the same thing over and over again can make a bigger impression than creating a new product just because the last one was cool. Ride out the momentum of your great work, but don’t wait too long before starting the next big thing.
4. Magic Triangles and Augmented Records are exactly what the sound like: science fiction. Well, at least it would have been if it all worked as easy as it first seemed like. (I was trying to integrate an OSX server into a Windows Active Directory environment to give more structure and control over Macs.) I’ll save the details for another time.
5. It’s okay to be inexperienced and not know how to do things. Everyone has to start somewhere. Just because you may not be like that one person or know how to produce what you see in your head, it doesn’t mean you’re not good enough. It just means you’ve got room to grow.
6. Remembering your victories (however small they maybe) and what you have going will keep you centered. For example, I took a pretty cool photo that was fitting for my rainy, Oregon week. And I have a beautiful, loving, creative spouse who loves me and an amazing, gorgeous daughter that make it all worth it.

No matter what position you hold in regards to being a Christian and war (I happen to hold to nonviolence), I believe we cannot justify glorifying the ‘winning’ of our independence from our friends across the pond. How can we celebrate that we killed thousands upon thousands of people because they were taxing us without giving us representation in parliament?

What do you think? Jump over to Sojourners for the full article.

“When I am consumed by my problems—stressed out about my life, my family, and my job—I actually convey the belief that I think the circumstances are more important than God’s command to always rejoice. In other words, that I have a ‘right’ to disobey God because of the magnitude of my responsibilities.” – Francis Chan, Crazy Love

What a great quote! This challenges the way we face the struggles and everyday living of life. I don’t know about you, but joy isn’t my normal response when I have a ton on my plate and they all demand a ton out of me. I get stressed and consumed with the issues.

I’m curious on how the world would change if Christians really rejoiced always. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not talking about that fake “Praise God!” or “God is good!” when you are asked how you are doing. That just annoys me. I’m talking about a sincere joy to be facing the struggles that come our way because we have a great God who is walking with us through it all and is more than powerful enough to get us through.

I think it would rock the world if we started living that way.

The reality is that I am good enough and okay. I read a great quote from Oswald Chambers recently that got me thinking about this.

“Never make a principle out of your experience; let God be as original with others as He is with you.”

I am okay with me. I’m going to start living that way. And I think you’ll notice it on the blog too.

“Remember that when you leave this earth, you can take with you nothing that you have received…but only what you have given: a full heart, enriched by honest service, love, sacrifice, and courage.” – St. Francis of Assis (via Sojourners Magazine)

Lately, I’ve been really consumed with things. I guess that’s an easy thing to do. But this was a good reminder. The stuff doesn’t matter. It’s the heart that I live with. One focused on what I can give and impart to others.

My focus needs to shift from to things to giving. Does your focus need shifting?

“The tongue has the power of life and death…” – Proverbs 18:21

Our communication has huge implications for the lives of those we come in contact with. It’s a fact that most people realize, but rarely think about. Lately, the fact has been haunting me a little.

A couple days ago, I was told about Walmart’s branding principles and guidelines. The company makes sure every ad and graphic communicates three things—which couldn’t all be remembered at the time. But the summation of the three points is hope and a better life. That is what Walmart is communicating to its audience.

It’s funny that Walmart is trying to sell the same sort of story that Christians are responsible for—a story of hope and a better life. That’s the reason Jesus came.

I find that I, and Christians in general, miss the principle that Walmart has gotten a hold of. It’s our responsibility to communicate the gospel (hope an a better life) in every aspect of our lives. We are suppose to communicate with our lives and our speech the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection. I think that is what Jesus was talking about when he called us the salt of the earth in Matthew 5:13.

So, I’ve been challenged to be careful to speak life and hope in every conversation I have

“The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just.”

- Abraham Lincoln (via Sojourners Verse and Voice of the Day Blog)