Some of the biggest time wasters in my life are several circular icons on my phone.
Facebook, Messenger, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram. You name it.
There were many others I also used before, such as Snapchat, TikTok, and Tumblr, that would suck the life out of me.
Why would I allow myself to become distracted by these demons of the internet? To become pulled down a soulless adventure of scrolling? 💀
A few minutes, hours, or days of instant entertainment.
They are one of my greatest enemies to my mental health, focus, and attention, and yet the shackles are difficult to be set free from. ⛓️
Reducing usage, putting timers, or even uninstalling apps are all attempts to prevent the addiction from rooting deeply under my cerebral skin. 🧠
And on some end, they work.
Recently, though, as I tried to clear my mind from the stupor of pixelated blue light, I started to ask myself a question: 🤔
What if I could turn my greatest enemy, into my friend? My greatest weakness, into my strength? My greatest distraction, into a tool of focus?
I’ve noticed that social media, one of the biggest “time-wasters” of our lives, can become one of our greatest tools in our toolkit to connect, stand out, and inspire others in life. 🛠️ 🧰
🐦 Twitter, though considered a cesspool of anger and negative vibes, has been used by quite a few people as a form of networking - creating connections and sharing innovative thoughts.
📷 Instagram has been used to share updates, promote brands, and display inspirational quotes.
🎥 YouTube has been used to engage with communities and share engaging stories with emotional lessons to takeaway.
All I need to do is figure out how to step out into social media, as it’s not comfortable anymore for me to post there anymore. (okay boomer 👴 )
I used to post broadly on social media before, but I stopped as I transitioned to one on one interactions and familiar communities. I started to view social media as a hassle to manage and an avenue of addiction. So I’ve avoided utilizing it.
But slowly, I’m trying to build up the courage to interact and engage with others via social media. 🤖
Though I feel deathly afraid to broadcast to people I haven’t talked to in a while, it’s uncomfortable to meet new strangers, and I worry that I won’t be accepted or receive approval via every post, I want to change.
I want to use social media as a tool to be more real, to connect with others, and to inspire healthy positive change.
So far, I’ve posted about my wisdom teeth removal with dad level jokes and shared my passion project website I’ve been working on, and I feel like my social posting sore muscles haven’t moved in ages. 💪
But I’m seeing progress, gaining confidence, and can see the opportunity with time and dedication. I’m still working through social media addiction, but I can see how social media can no longer be constricting and become a tool for good - for myself and for others.
Questions to ponder: 🤔
How do you currently use social media, if at all? Is it an addiction or a tool?
What is one way you can use social media (or other platforms) as a tool to benefit others and yourself?
Weekly Update
Personal life stuff… 🔔
Hello friends,
Greetings from Austin!👋
Not sure if y’all could tell from last week’s update, but I was not in the best place. I had gotten my wisdom teeth removed and honestly, writing last week for my newsletter was like pulling teeth (haha yes, I did that on purpose 😄 ).
I can’t believe we have 1 more month of 2020 before we go into a new year, 2021. 🥳 Not sure if it’ll be better or worse, but be on the lookout for a reflection post on the last Saturday of the year! 😬
That aside, hope y’all were able to have a good Thanksgiving break with family, friends, and those you love! 🦃 I stayed in Austin for the thanksgiving season (all my roommates left me alone 😭), and got to celebrate with my pastor, his family, and a couple of friends.
It was sad not being able to be with my fam in person, but we were able to have a group video call, not only with my mom and dad but also with my extended family. 💻
I feel like quarantine allowed my family to be more connected emotionally. Rather than being restricted to seeing each other at weddings or big life events, we’ve been able to reconnect on a budget (zoom ticket flights start a $0 dollars). I even got to see some of my cousins and their families who I’ve never met before LOL. Quarantine has been tough being void of many in-person benefits, but there have been little joys to enjoy, and I’ve been thankful for every little joy that can be found.
Anyways, I don’t really have much to share picture-wise, as I spent less time taking photos, and more time downing painkillers to stay sane. 💊
Thanks for checking in! With that, stay safe 😷 , keep it savvy 🧠 , and I’ll see y’all in the next update 😊
Eric
Weekly Collections
A collection of resources for you to enjoy… 📰 🎬 🎙️
Faith
Here’s a podcast episode featuring my previous college pastor for HMCC Austin, Tou Fue, and his wife, Grace, who are currently doing a church plant in Charlotte, NC (you can find them on their Instagram).
Wanted to share some notes on how they live missionally as bi-vocational churchgoers and foster community:
“Missionaries are not individualistic. The Church as a whole is the missionary.
Wherever you’re at, you’re on a mission field.”
Times are making us rethink how we do church. It’s good and healthy to meet in person, but it's important to reimagine what church can look like. Though it feels plastic to do online, young people are getting acclimated to screen time.
Young leaders learn to pioneer leading virtually - video platforms to play video games and chat with friends.
The most creative things happen out of adversity.
“Community is synonymous with intimacy.”
God calls us to be fishers of men. Not one man, but the biblical picture is several men throwing a net together to draw in fish.
People are not projects. When you see individuals as people, with a story. They have gone through things you've never gone through. Rather than meeting people to share the Gospel, you start building relationships with people just to build relationships with them. As God tugs your heart, just have those conversations.
Quick practicals:
The best way to mobilize missionaries is to start with prayer.
Be very intentional. Be in communion with God first. Then love others
Ask how people are doing and how to be praying for them.
Just say hi - meet them where they are and start up a conversation
—Missional Living & Community | Let’s Break Bread Podcast
Leadership
“Change is inevitable, progress is optional”
- Tony Robbins
We need to change how we think about change, and this will change how we try to change people.
People overestimate what they have, and underestimate what they may gain by giving up what they have.
People don't hate change, they hate the way we try to change them.
People change for only two reasons:
Only when they have t
Only when they want to
As leaders, we want to create in teams a want to change. A want to move forward.
Lead with "the why", before"the what".
The why disarms critics and empowers the advocates.
People don't know how good the new is until they let go of the old.
Just need to give people permission to try something different so they'll like it. May need to do an experiment.
Ultimately, we embrace change as a part of who we are.
Questions to apply:
What is one thing you need to change to grow as a leader? ex. Be a better listener, run meetings more efficiently, encourage others, cast vision, etc...
What specific actions will you take this week to stretch yourself to empower change and create growth? If you don't define it, you won't do it.
—Embracing Change Pt. 1 | Craig Groeschel
Productivity
Weekly Tidbits
Learnings, verses, & quotes to chew on… 🧐
Writer and entrepreneur Kevin Kelly on making life count:
"I am now 55 years old. Like a lot of people in middle age my late-night thoughts bend to contemplations about how short my remaining time is. Even with increasing longevity there is not enough time to do all that I want. Nowhere close. My friend Stewart Brand, who is now 69, has been arranging his life in blocks of 5 years. Five years is what he says any project worth doing will take. From moment of inception to the last good-riddance, a book, a campaign, a new job, a start-up will take 5 years to play through. So, he asks himself, how many 5 years do I have left? He can count them on one hand even if he is lucky. So this clarifies his choices. If he has less than 5 big things he can do, what will they be?"
-Taken from James Clear 3-2-1 newsletter (referral link)
Verse of the Week
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
—2 Timothy 3:16–17
Challenging Quote
“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
—John F. Kennedy
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