medieval monks, In many ways, the original LinkedIn power user. Enthusiastic and with a knack for self-promotion, they loved reading and sharing inspiring stories of other early Christians who showed amazing dedication to their work. Sarah, who lived by the river and never looked in the direction of the river, was a dedication to her faith. James prayed so fervently in a snowstorm that he was buried in the snow and had to be dug out by his neighbors.
But none of these early followers could prevent the distractions as Pachomius did.A fourth-century monk survived a parade of demons who disguised themselves as naked women, and threw them into their dwellings. I rang the walls and tried to make him laugh with elaborate comedy routines. Pachomius did not glance in their direction. For early Christian writers, Pachomius and his ilk set a high standard of concentration that other monks aspired to match. These superconcentrators were the first millennium embodiment of #workgoals, #hustle and #selfimprovement.
Even if you aren’t haunted by the devil, there’s a lot a medieval monk can tell you about distraction. It may seem like it, but monks struggled with much the same distractions over 1,500 years ago. and searched for stimulating routines that might help you lead a more productive life.Forget Silicon Valley gurus. Are the early Christian monks the productivity heroes we’ve been looking for?
Jamie Kleiner thinks so. She is a historian of the Middle Ages, The Wandering Mind: What a Medieval Monk Taught Me About Distractionexamines how early Christian monks (men and women who lived between 300 and 900 AD) enhanced their ability to concentrate. The monk’s obsession with distraction was very good, she says. “They, like no one else, have devoted their entire lives—all of themselves—to trying to focus on God. I found it so difficult that I started writing about distractions more than anyone else.”
One of the main ways monks encouraged each other to focus on prayer and study was by sharing stories of extreme concentration.Sometimes they were inspirational, like the story of Simeon, a stylite who lived on a pillar and was never distracted even when his leg was suffering from a severe infection. At other times, stories were designed to keep monks humble. Father’s Apoftegmata The story includes that a monk with a reputation for concentration heard about a grocery store in a nearby town that had better concentration. When he visits a grocery store, Monk is stunned to learn that his store is in a part of town where people sing lewd tunes non-stop. A monk asked how a grocery store could focus on such vulgar music. “What kind of music?” replied the grocer. He was so busy concentrating that he didn’t even notice someone singing.
Stories of this sort reminded the monks of how difficult it was to maintain concentration. They will also run out at times. “Allowing yourself to be candid is kind of compassionate,” he says Kreiner. “The monks are good at caring for each other and understanding how hard it was to get things done.” It’s really hard to free yourself from distractions. Don’t be afraid of not always meeting your lofty goals.
