Posts Tagged: move a muscle change a thought

“The Art of Distracting Ourselves with Small White Stones”

On July 5, 2023 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Let your eyes look directly forward,

            and your gaze be straight before you.

Ponder the path of your feet;

            then all your ways will be sure.

 Do not swerve to the right or to the left;

            turn your foot away from evil.” (Proverbs 4:25-27, English Standard Version)

A couple of friends of mine were out walking and talking with one another at a park when a very pretty young lady jogged by them. They are trying to be men of integrity, so they both quickly lowered their gaze to contemplate the paved asphalt path below them.

“Hey!” said one of them. “I never noticed that this asphalt has little white stones in it.”

“Me neither!” responded the other guy.

Distractions can be a bad thing, if they are keeping us from doing good things. However, distractions have their good side, too. Sometimes we can distract ourselves from doing things, saying things, or thinking things that we will very soon regret.

Many distractions are external and, therefore, out of our control. But we can also choose to distract ourselves. This doesn’t have to be a big production. In fact, the simpler the better. Years ago, I heard a man who was facing down a terrible addiction say the following: In the early days of his recovery, when the addiction came knocking at the door, this man would start flipping through food recipes in order to distract himself. It worked for him!

We have a saying in twelve-step programs, “Move a muscle, change a thought.” It really is true.

And sometimes, just by noticing what is around us, we are distracted in a holy, healthy way. There are times when a few white stones on the pathway are enough to keep us on The Path. What are your white stones?

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“Moving You’re Motivation Muscle”

On April 28, 2020 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

This morning, my virtual 12-step group had as one of its topics, “How to stay motivated in recovery, especially when you’re not.” It is a wonderful topic about a struggle that I have almost all the time.

Of course, it is not just in the arena of addiction-recovery that I struggle with motivation. This is a battle in every area of my life. Let me list a few areas where I am frequently about as motivated as dirty dishwater:

  • Exercise.
  • Eating wisely.
  • Praying.
  • Really good reading.
  • Taking the dog for a walk.
  • Being nice to my wife.
  • Writing posts for this website.
  • Biblical scholarship.
  • Learning Spanish.
  • Sitting straight.
  • Making gratitude lists.
  • Cutting back on my flow of words.

Now, I hate to say it, but this is only a partial list. This is not an isolated thunderstorm in my life. It is a massive hurricane.

However, I have discovered some things that work when I choose to do them. Here is a much shorter list of good practices:

  • I remind myself that motivation isn’t the same thing as feeling motivated.
  • I act on the 12-step slogan “Move a muscle; change a thought.” If I move, doing something that I don’t want to do, the “want-to” often comes along for the ride. My thinking changes when I’m doing what I need to be doing, rather than the other way around. I refuse to be held hostage by my own lack of motivation.
  • I remind myself that every task, ever relationship is always fresh and new. Years ago, I read a quote from an ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus: “You never step into the same river twice.” He went on the explain that the water has flowed on, and therefore, it is not the same river. Most of us are motivated when things and relationships are new and fresh. What if we realized that things and relationships are always new and fresh?
  • Doing life/recovery/running/eating wisely (along with anything else) with others is a wonderful way to stay motivated. That’s one of the many reasons why 12-step groups are so powerful. I may not be motivated, but chances are excellent that someone else in the group is motivated. Motivation is contagious.
  • I try to remember (with varying degrees of success) that every little good thing I do brings a smile to God. Apparently, according to Malachi 3:16, even mentioning the LORD or speaking the LORD’s name to others gets recorded in his books, and makes us precious in the sight of God. “Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another.”  Jesus said that even a cup of cold water given in his name is rewarded (Matthew 10:42).

I’m sure that there are more things that help with motivation, and I hope to hear from some of you about what works for you. However, I need to warn you: The good practices I’ve listed above only work when I actually do them. And I don’t always do them. Far too often, I marinate in my own lack of motivation.

 I am reminded of the old joke about the tourist who was visiting New York city for the first time. He stopped a stranger, and asked, “How do you get to get Carnegie Hall?”

The New Yorker replied, “Practice! Practice! Practice!”

Motivation is a muscle. You have to regularly exercise it if you want it to grow. Neglect it, and it will atrophy more quickly than you can say, “Nah, I don’t feel like doing that.”

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“CAN I MOVE?”

On March 21, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

 “Can I move?” (Sundance to Percy Garris, in the movie “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.”  Sundance and Butch Cassidy were being interviewed for the position of payroll guards.  Percy had thrown a large gold coin a few yards away from Sundance.  However, Sundance had missed his first shot, with both the shooter and the target stationary.  After asking, “Can I move?” he moved, and hit the target—not once, but twice. After reholstering his revolver, Sundance said, “I’m better when I move.”  He got the job.)

I was reading a 12-step meditation this morning.  The author started off with a familiar Mother Goose rhyme.

“Humpty Dumpty sat on the wall,

Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.”

And then, the author made a wonderful interpretive move on this very familiar rhyme.  The author suggested that, maybe, Humpty Dumpty just sat too long in one place.

I had never thought of that before.  It is amazing how much wisdom there is in apparently nonsensical (or at least simple) children’s rhymes.

We have a saying in addiction recovery meetings, “Move a muscle, change a thought.”  The idea is that if we are engaging in unhealthy, unhelpful thinking, the best thing we can do often is to move.  I have found this to be very helpful.

I am prone to blood clots, and the blood clots are prone to go to my lungs, heart, and brain.  One of these days, it is possible that, despite Warfarin (a.k.a. “rat poison”), one of these clots is going to do me in.  However, one of the ways in which I try to prevent clots from forming in the first place is to move around.  For example, I use the Promodoro Technique.  It is very simple.  I set an alarm clock to go off every twenty-five minutes.  Then, I take either a five-minute or a fifteen-minute break, and move around.  When the break is over, I reset the alarm for another twenty-five minutes.  This also helps my back and hip not to hurt so much.

So, if you’re struggling with unhelpful, unhealthy thoughts, you might want to try moving a bit.  It probably won’t hurt, and it might help.

This morning, I am having (or being had by??) by some unhealthy thoughts.  They, of course, lead to depressing thoughts, which are also unhealthy for me.  I sent a rather self-pitying email report to my sponsor, and he fired back a very unsympathetic (but very helpful) reply.

“No pity party allowed. You are in control of your own happiness.

God has given us a beautiful day. This could be the last snowfall of the season. How are you going to embrace it?”

Man, is my sponsor ever a good one!

Here is my reply.

“Thanks for the cold water.  No, really!  Thanks!

I will go for a walk in the snow, and make a snow man.  (I also need to clean off the driveway, but I think I’ll do the fun stuff first.)”

Excuse the abrupt ending to this post.  I need to go outside and play in the snow.  I’m better when I move.

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