Must. Maintain. Focus.

My wife and were sitting with a group of friends discussing a recent sermon we heard at church. At this point, I have no idea what the message was about, but I remember the conversation turned to keeping focus in our busy world (specifically, us all wondering how to do that). That’s when my friend Dave blurted out, “Must. Maintain. Focus.” After a moment of silence, all of us started laughing – it was so random and out of place.

And it stuck with me. As I type this years later, the message rings true…Must. Maintain. Focus.

I just wrote about how people would rather go through electric shock therapy than actually sit and think. Why? Thinking takes focus. And we’re not used to that – we crave the instant gratification of jumping from thing-to-thing. With the Internet, there’s no limitation – any curiosity that tickles our interest can be immediately quenched with Google. And the only price we pay is the complete disposal of our effectiveness…and passion.

The two are inseparably linked. When you’re good at something that stretches you – when you complete it well (“Job well done, my good and faithful one!”), you begin to love it! No, the secret to focus is not to get rid of your cell phone. Disconnect the Internet. Throw away your TV. You’ve simply turned off the easy avenues. The problem is you. And me. Deep within we want the easy “fix” rather than the hard work.

But cotton candy only tastes good for a time. I’m ready for some real food.

…you?