Eyes up!

I wrote a version of this to my son who is finishing up his past three weeks of Marines Boot Camp. I pray its a blessing to you as well.

Keep your Eyes Up.

Because where your eyes go, the rest of you follows.

Lift your eyes, and your mind will follow.
Lift your eyes, and your body will follow.
Lift your eyes, and your heart will follow.

First, keeping your eyes up guards your mind against fear.

Fear gets us doing the wrong things. I think you have heard Zig Ziglar explain the “moth effect.” When police officers leave their flashing lights on while giving someone a ticket on the side of the road, passing drivers are more likely to drift toward the lights and make contact with the police cruiser than if the lights are off.

That seems counterintuitive. You would think the flashing lights would make the patrol car easier to see and therefore easier to avoid. But people often steer toward what they are staring at, even while subconsciously telling themselves to avoid it.

That is why your focus matters.

Faith focuses on truth; fear frets over fiction. Faith looks at “what is.” Fear gets lost in “what if.” People hit the car because they fear hitting the car. In other words, their minds are not focused properly, so their actions follow.

Our minds tend to move toward what they magnify.

The antidote? Focus on the moment. Safely navigate the obstacle. Do not let your mind run three weeks ahead, three days ahead, or even three hours ahead. Just do the next right thing. Your life right now is so planned out for you that the next right thing for you is to just keep going! Fixing your eyes on the moment gives you perseverance.

Keep your eyes up, and your mind will follow. Do the next right thing.

Second, keeping your eyes up helps your entire body stay coordinated and aligned.

When I am at CrossFit, I tend to drop my eyes during a lift. My coaches are constantly getting on me: “Keep your eyes up!” They understand that keeping my eyes up helps keep my whole frame in line. It helps me lift properly, maintain focus, maximize muscle development, and minimize the chance of injury.

That simple act — keeping my eyes up — brings the rest of my body into better alignment.

Alignment begins with attention. Fixing your eyes straight ahead gives you power.

Keep your eyes up, and your body will follow. Do it well.

Third, eyes up will lift your heart to where true strength can be found.

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
the Maker of heaven and earth.”
Psalm 121:1–2

Your help does not come from focusing on your pain, your frustration, your exhaustion, or your setbacks. Your help comes from the Lord. Your heart cannot rise very high while your eyes are fixed only on what hurts. Fixing your eyes above gives you perspective.

Keep your eyes up, and your heart will follow. Do it for the Lord.

When your eyes are where they belong, your mind follows. Your body follows. Your heart follows. Then your attitude, your actions, and your endurance begin to follow too.

So when I say, “Eyes up,” I mean it both literally and figuratively.

Eyes up when you are resting — your help comes from the Lord. (Yes, your eyes can be closed and up. :))

Eyes up when you are working — your focus belongs on the task at hand.

Eyes up when you are tested — correction is training, not rejection.

Eyes up when you are serving — your eyes show them you care.

Eyes up means….Do the next right thing. Do it well. Do it for the Lord.

Do it with Perseverance. Do it with Power. Do it with Perspective.

Working diligently with Perseverance, Power, and Perspective is all in the eyes.