Mark Batterson: "Win The Day"
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Ryan Reynolds here from Int Mobile. With the price of just about everything going up during inflation, we thought we'd bring our prices down.

So to help us, we brought in a reverse auctioneer, which is apparently a thing. Mint Mobile Unlimited Premium Wireless. How about you get 30, 30, how about you get 30, how about you get 20, 20, 20, how about you get 20, 20, how about you get 15, 15, 15, 15, just 15 bucks a month? Sold! Give it a try at mintmobile.com slash switch. $45 upfront payment equivalent to $15 per month. New customers on first three-month plan only. Taxes and fees extra. Speeds lower above 40 gigabytes each detail. It's Livin' the Bream with host of Fox News at Night, Shannon Bream.

All right, guys, as we roll into a new year, we have the perfect guest and this perfect book to talk about on Live in the Bring This Week. As we launch into 2021, we're all ready to leave behind 2020. I refuse to accept it when people say, well, how do we not know? It's not going to be worse.

I am claiming and naming that 2021 is going to be a much better reflection of the world. Things are going to get better. And here to talk with us today is Mark Batterson. He is the pastor of National Community Church here in the D.C. area. He is a New York Times bestselling author. He's got his 20th book out. I've started it. It's fantastic. And I think it's perfect for everything that we're going through right now. Mark, welcome to Live in the Brain.

Thanks, Shannon. Great to be with you. All right. The brand new book is Win the Day, Seven Daily Habits to Help You Stress Less and Accomplish More. And Mark, I got to tell you, when I saw all of the promotional stuff coming out for the book and I read the title, I'm like, that is for me. I don't know who that's not for because who doesn't want less stress and to actually work better, work smarter, get more accomplished in our day, in our lives. Tell me what inspired the book and the overall theme.

Well, the irony is that I wrote the book long before this COVID crisis. So I didn't know that we would be going into a new year. And Shannon, everybody right now, I think is ready to hit that reset button. And ironically, the theme of the book really is yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, win the day. And so I

You know, that sounds a little self-help, but it's interesting how this theme is woven throughout some ancient wisdom. Things like, "Give us this day our daily bread."

Take up your cross daily. This idea of this is the day that the Lord has made. His mercies are new every morning. It's this idea of living in daytight compartments. And we get so overwhelmed by yesterday and tomorrow, especially in a year like this.

So I think it's a timely reminder going into a new year. Yeah, I love the 24 hour chunks because I think almost we can bite that off and say, I think so many of us, I need to live in the present. What can I handle today? What is it not worth worrying about what's coming tomorrow or mistakes I've made in the past? How do I make peace with that and just live this day in front of me the best that I can with what I've got to work with?

And move on. I mean, I, over the Christmas break, took one of these online quizzes because I read an article that then took me to this author's website. And it was all about resting and accomplishing things. Like, it's one thing to say, I'm going to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night. But there's so much more into your day of what really matters if you are in alignment spiritually, physically, your relationships, mentally, where you're at. And I found so much of what I've read in your book so far was good at balancing

channeling those things so you are doing the best you can. By the way, I did terrible on the quiz, so I got to finish your book and get better. I'm being pulled in too many different directions at one time, but that's everybody right now, I think. I think it is. And the fact that one third of Americans are experiencing anxiety or depression is evidence of

that all of us need a little extra help right now. And I think it does come down to daily habits. So Shannon, I'm a big believer in goal setting and you won't accomplish 100% of the goals you don't set. And so I have a list of life goals, 100 life goals. But

But what I've learned is you've got to take those life goals and you have to reverse engineer them into daily habits. We focus on outcomes instead of inputs, and then we get frustrated. So in a sense, the new year is this opportunity to go back to basics. And while we're on the subject, I bet

A few of your listeners right now are working on those New Year's resolutions. And I don't want to make light of the significance of that. But the reality is 75% of New Year's resolutions will fail within the first month. And we have a tendency to set these long-term goals, but then...

We flame out pretty fast because we get a little bit too overwhelmed by the size or scope. And so I think it's really important to kind of break it down into these daily habits. Yeah. And I find that people are in two camps. They either love the New Year's resolution thing or they hate it and think it's stupid and a waste of their time and they don't want to do it. We're split on that in my house. I love the idea of a fresh new year, a fresh new start. And I think a lot of people will after the year we're just living through in 2020, but

So I like that. And I like the idea of setting goals and being very intentional about the things that you want to do and where you want to invest your time, your emotions, your treasure, all those things. I got to say that some of these chapter titles are hilarious and I think it's good. They kind of jog your mind. Like what in the world is that about? I have to ask you about eat the frog.

What does that mean? Yeah, it's an old Mark Twainism. He said, if you ever have to eat a live frog, do it first thing in the morning because then you'll know that the hardest thing is behind you. I mean, I don't even know where that idea comes from, but it's kind of hilarious. And he said, if you have to eat two frogs, eat the biggest one first. It's this idea that

How we start our day really does set the tone, set the pace. And whether it's doing your age in sit-ups or five minutes of meditation, just a little bit of intentionality at the beginning of the day. And I know that's easier said than done, especially a lot of parents are

dual occupation teachers these days. And so I know that's easier said than done, but you need to kind of find that, that frog and eat it first thing in the morning because it sets the tone and sets the table really for the rest of the day. Yeah. It's, it's a great idea that you don't procrastinate and then you're dreading it and you find all kinds of excuses and time wasters and distractions. So you don't have to get to the eating the frog.

And for some of us, yeah, it's going for a run or it's doing something else. I found though that I had a real change in 2020 in that, you know, as a person of faith, for me, it's always been important to spend time in the word and in prayer and those kinds of things.

But they became a necessity for me in 2020 because just to get out of bed and look at my phone, for all of us, I mean, it was just gut punch after gut punch when you see the death tolls rising, the unemployment, the lines of people who desperately need food, who never thought they'd find themselves there. I mean, it was just one thing after another.

And so I found if I don't make this investment first thing in the day, get my armor on, get prayed up, get ready to go. I feel just absolutely overwhelmed by the day ahead of me. So I think for, you know, different people, it could be something different. But how critical is it that you do lay that foundation for as you've given us these 24 hour chunks of time? Yeah, Shannon, I think it's interesting, especially in light of.

what you do. I mean, you, you, you are all about the news. You have to keep a pulse on what is happening in the world. And I would imagine that presents a little bit more of a challenge to you than perhaps some of the rest of us. But I love what Carl Barth said. He was this Austrian theologian. He said that,

I read my Bible and I read the newspaper, but I filter the newspaper through my Bible. And it's this idea of you have to keep a pulse on what's happening. But, you know, the average person spends 142 minutes on social media. That represents 15% of our waking hour. And so...

the question becomes saying yes to one thing is saying no to something else. So you have to figure out

What are your priorities? You will not, whatever your goal is this year, and it might be, you know, beginning a graduate degree or running a triathlon or even writing a book. I can make one prediction pretty confidently. You will not find time. You will not find time. You have to make time. And that means something else has to give and

And that's so hard because, you know, there are a lot of time wasters, but you have to figure out what you're going to let go of in order to make time for some of those priorities. And of course, that gets into establishing boundaries. But this is a perfect time to do that as we kind of embark on a new year. So what do you say to people who

maybe a little bit overwhelmed. And again, we're talking to pastor, author, speaker, Mark Batterson. The new book is Win the Day, Seven Daily Habits to Help You Stress Less and Accomplish More, a perfect book for kicking off 2021. What do you say to people though, who think, oh, I just, I'm not good at starting a new habit. I worry I'm going to flame out. I don't know if I can do the things that are outlined in the book. Is it for me? Yeah. One question. Can you do it for a day?

I don't know anybody who can't do anything for a day. You can break a bad habit for a day. You can build a good habit for a day. The key then is you do it for a day and

And then you do it all over again the next day and you've got a winning streak. And I know that that sounds a little bit, Shannon, like a Jedi mind trick, but it is this idea of breaking those bigger goals into smaller goals. Let me, can I ask you a question? Sure. You know,

Before we began recording the podcast, you had gone out and taken a run, which which says something because it's it's pretty cold out today. So there's a level of commitment there.

Are you training for something or have you ever done like a 5K, 10K? I got tricked, Mark, into doing a marathon. I went from, listen, I know you're an athlete for real. I'm a fake athlete. But a few years ago, my husband, it was not a New Year's resolution, but he was, it was something he decided the end of December one year that we would try the next year and

not calling it a resolution, but he said that he wanted to run a marathon. I'm like, that's awesome. He's actually an athlete like you too. And I didn't run around the block. And I was like, this is great. I'm getting t-shirts made. I'm gonna have posters. I'll be all along the routes. Great. And he's like, no, no, I want us to run it together. And I was like,

You met me, right? This is ridiculous. So long story long, we ended up running a marathon five months later and that's provoked a love of running in me. And so I, I just do it as a stress reliever. I know it's, it's one of those things that's an investment for me.

So much now, it's not about losing weight or looking a certain way or whatever. It is dealing with stress. And I know it's an investment of my day. If I get out there and clear my head for an hour, I'm just better equipped for everything else. Yeah. Which marathon did you run and why? The Pittsburgh Marathon, which I learned stupidly

After we had signed up for it is the hilliest chorus in the U.S. That was not smart, especially for a first time marathoner. We did it because it fit our five to six month training window, which is way too aggressive, I think, for a first marathon. But we have tons of family there. And he's like, this is great. We can stay there. They'll help take care of us. They'll turn out for the race. And so we knew we'd have moral support there.

I love it. Well, Shannon, I ran the Chicago Marathon explicitly because it was the flattest marathon. Oh, if I do another one, that's where I'm going. Highly, highly recommend it. Well, part of why I asked the question is,

you know, it can be a little overwhelming or almost debilitating to think about like, there's no way I can run 26.2 miles. You know, it's like, that's just seems impossible for some people. Well, I don't know what your plan was, but mine involves 72 training runs that covered 475 miles. So it's,

It's about breaking it into those small wins and you work the plan. And if you work the plan, it really is amazing. You know, we all overestimate what we can do in a day or two, but we underestimate what God can do in 10 or 20 years if you keep at it. And so I hope that is an encouragement to those who are listening. Yeah, I mean, we did in the beginning, it was a two or three mile run and that was it. And even at the end of that, I would be like, what are we doing now?

And then you get to the 10 mile runs, 12 mile, 15, 18, you know, and you're thinking, I can't believe I'm doing this. This is crazy. But I don't know about you having run these races and stuff. I still will have these dreams.

where I show up for a marathon or a bigger race and I haven't trained, but I'm like, well, I'm just going to see how far I can go. Like I'm so freaked out that I did not do any training because you know in your heart of hearts that you just can't do that. Yeah. Well, and when you get to that starting line, the mantra is you have to trust your training. And I think that holds true no matter what it is. You know, there are

There are things that, well, here's how I would say it, Shannon. I think we tend to think of habits as external things that increase proficiency or productivity. And certainly that's a piece of the puzzle. But in my experience, the hardest habits to cultivate are the mental habits, the head habits, the thought habits, right?

And you really kind of have to start at that place. And that, I guess, is habit number one, flip the script. You've got to tell yourself the right story. And that sounds like just a pep talk. But listen, I mean, about 60,000 thoughts fire across these synapses every single day. Wow.

One study says 80% of them are negative. Well, there's our problem right there. We've got to start with course correcting that internal monologue or that self-talk so that we put ourself in the right headspace. We'll have more Live in the Bream in a moment.

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Again, the name of the book is Win the Day, Seven Daily Habits to Help You Stress Less and Accomplish More by Mark Batterson, who is joining us on this week's Live in the Bream. Talk me through this too. You talk about wind the clock. Time is measured in minutes. Life is measured in moments. I feel like in this society and the current environment that most of us live in, that's a really important thing to kind of digest. Yeah. If you aren't careful,

The days are long and the years are short. And time does, in fact, fly. I think the way that you wind the clock, and it's about imagining these unborn tomorrows. It's this incredible capacity to envision the future, which I think is...

a part of the image of God in us. Animals are instinctual, and so they have hoarding instincts when it starts getting cold, but they can't envision the kind of things that we envision.

And so I think this capacity to dream about the future is one way that we wind the clock. There's a proverb that says without a vision that people perish. And that idea of perish, it actually refers to a fruit that's past its ripeness and it's rotting. I kind of have this theory that as long as you have a vision,

you're never past your prime. And there's kind of a fun study that I cite in the book, Ellen Langer, who actually coined this idea of mindfulness, does this study with some octogenarians and creates this setting where they imagine themselves 20 years younger. And sure enough,

In a matter of days, they have more manual dexterity. They have better recall. I think, well, fun fact.

Any guess how a doctor assesses your age? And I'll just leave that hanging out there for just a second. The answer is so obvious. The doctor asks you your birthday. It's the only way they can assess your true age. The funny thing is you go to a class reunion.

And tell me different people age in different ways at different rates. And so there is a way to wind the clock and some of it is maintaining a healthy lifestyle, but so much of it is mental health, spiritual health. And so I think the way that we, we wind the clock is by really recognizing that

moments and making the most of them. Yeah. I remember some of the best advice I got on my wedding day. It wasn't about marriage. It was about the wedding day. And they said, someone said to me, take mental pictures during the day of like little moments of things that

at the altar or at the reception or whatever. And I still have such vivid memories of taking those little snapshots, you know, before you had your cell phone with you everywhere, taking a picture of everything. And I'm sure some brides and grooms take them up to the altar, but I can remember the details of this flower arrangement that was on the altar where we were getting married. And I thought,

It's such a good thing to do. And so many times, even now, we're taking pictures of something instead of being in the moment, whether we see a beautiful sunset or whatever the moment is. And I think, you know, everything becomes so processed and we lose the joy and the wonder kind of in those moments. So I love that idea of treasuring those moments. And you mentioned the mental aspect.

I really, and we were talking about the marathon running thing. I've always told people, I think it was as tough mentally as it was physically. You really do have to tell yourself you're going to get things done and you're going to do things you don't think your body can do. And I think it's that way with trying to establish any good habits or take control of our thoughts. You mentioned that overwhelming amount that are negative habits.

Just there's so many things that require our mental focus and our toughness. And there's just so many good practical things in this book that I think will help people, whatever it is that they want to do better in their life and get control of. Again, Win the Day, Seven Daily Habits to Help You Stress Less and Accomplish More. Mark Batterson is the author.

This is number 20 for him. He is our guest today. He's also pastor of a church here in D.C., which we enjoy attending when we can in person. And I know we're all looking forward to the day that we can be back at National Community Church and everyone at their houses of worship without fear and just to celebrate and to worship together and to bear each other's burdens as we go into a new year. Mark, wish you all the best with the book. Any final words of wisdom that you hope people will pick up from it?

Well, Shannon, thank you so much. And I'm excited about a new year. It's just an opportunity to hit that reset button and to, in a sense, reimagine our lives. We are creatures of habit, and that's a good thing. You know, I think it's about 45% of our daily routines are automatic, and that saves us a lot of time and effort. But the

The challenge is sometimes you don't give the things that are second nature, you don't give them a second thought. And so I think the new year is an opportunity to deconstruct and reconstruct the

some of our daily habits in a way that we'll look back on next year. Maybe a little bit differently than this past year, but one way or the other, Shannon, just a happy new year to you and certainly well wishes to everybody listening. Yeah, happy new year to you as well. Thanks for your time today. I think people will be so encouraged and challenged and helped by this book. Mark Batterson, our guest today on Living the Breen. Happy new year, everybody.

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