This week can best be explained through the word Breakout!
A breakout is a technical term used when talking about the stock market. It refers to when the price of an asset moves above a resistance area, or moves below a support area. Breakouts indicate the potential for the price to start trending in the breakout direction. To put it in simple terms, a breakout is an indication that the price for a certain stock will go outside of the stocks’ normal range. For example, if a stock started trading for $101, but before it had never been able to “break” over the $99 mark, then this would be considered a breakout.
This week I experienced a breakout on Friday! Both the metrics and the story from Friday indicate that my hypothesis for this experiment might be correct. To best understand why I consider Friday a breakout, review the data from the last few weeks below.
Week 1: 3.4%
Week 2: 5.9%
Week 3: 1.8%
Week 4: 5.4%
Week 5: 11.2%
Week 5 Daily Breakdown
- Monday: 8.3%
- Tuesday: 6.5%
- Wednesday: 5.2%
- Thursday: 11.0%
- Friday: 24.8%
On average, in the first four weeks of the experiment, I turned my attention to God 20 times a day. This last week I averaged 56 times a day. Friday was the main contributor to the average with an exciting 119 minutes where I stopped and refocused on God.
Last week also helped me answer a very important question.
One of the questions that I had before the experiment started was, “How is this going to affect my productivity?” In the weeks before, I have struggled to be focused on a certain task and on God. As I thought deeper about the task at hand, the harder it was to think about God, but last week I started to notice some differences. On Thursday and Friday both, I was able to complete most of the tasks I had set out to do while also being aware of God as I was completing the tasks. The tasks were not as focus dependent, but I was able to prove that I can split my thoughts between my job and God.
If you don’t know, the real reason I am attempting the experiment is to see the people I meet “as I go” changed. My hypothesis is that seeking God in every moment is one of the best means to see change, but ultimately it is just a way to get to the result, not the result itself.
On Friday, I saw some success in seeing change. I had spent most of the moments in the afternoon seeking God, and then at the very end of the day, I had a chance to talk to someone I had met once before. I was talking to her about her family and listening to the pain that Covid has caused her family. She shared about her grandson who at only six-years-old, had to carry around an emergency inhaler. As she shared her story, I felt a deep compassion for her and her family, and I looked for a way to ask her about her beliefs.
I wanted to ask a question without being so direct that it would break rapport in the moment. I asked her the simple question of: “How are you staying strong through all of this?” Her response was “I don’t know.” I wanted to share about what I do when I am not strong enough for the moment, but looking back, I can see where fear took over. After some more time together, I ended the conversation by telling her I would be praying for her grandson, and she seemed grateful for that.
Although the story from this week wasn’t a huge and transformational encounter, I see it as a success. I see it as an opportunity to learn from, and I celebrate that Jesus will use that conversation in more ways than I can imagine.
I hope that my experiment encourages you to try something similar yourself, and as always, be blessed, Noah.
