Validate Your Inputs (Guard Your Heart)

I have been in the software development world for more years than I care to admit.  It was back in college during a programming course that I first heard the phrase "Garbage in, garbage out".  In computer programming, what this means is that each module requires that its inputs be received in an exact, expected way in order to perform its processing and produce the correct output.  If the inputs come in the wrong way, are of the wrong type, or pieces of it are missing, then the input is considered "Garbage" and the computer module won't be able to perform it's process the way it was intended.  If you are lucky, the program or module won't crap out, but at the very least it will not produce the right results - it will produce a "Garbage" result or output.  Hence the phrase.

Because of this, programmers write "Validation" lines of code in an attempt to ensure that the data that was input to the module is what was expected or needed for the module.  I would venture to guess based on experience that up to 50% of all lines of code ever written have the sole purpose of validating the inputs to a module.  This equates to trillions of lines of validation code out there today.  Given that, I find it amazing that there are still ways to "break" software and crash a module or even a whole network by putting the right (or wrong) "Garbage in".  There's another saying in the software industry that says that "There is no such thing as bug free code".  Have you ever seen your bank's website down?  The typical cause of these crashes is invalid data that wasn't caught that got into their system and created big problems.  Computer hackers and virus creators make their living finding and exploiting these "bugs" or holes in software.

So now you may be wondering, what does this all have to do with "Guarding Your Heart"?  I think plenty.

Think of your mind as the computer that runs You.  It runs the programs that operate all of your basic systems like your respiratory, circulatory and immune systems.  When you have an injury or illness, or when you challenge your body through physical activity, it runs the special programs that will help your body heal and recover.  It runs the systems that control your senses and processes the inputs of what you see, feel, hear, taste and smell into something you can comprehend.  It's fascinating when you think about all of the background processes your mind does with these inputs before it presents the results to you - all unconsciously and all in nanoseconds!

Your mind also controls the running of the programs for your "higher" processes like thought, imagination, and love and other emotional responses.  We like to think that we have conscious control of these "higher" processes, and to some extent we do, but if you've ever caught yourself in a day dream, or better yet ever "fallen" in love,  you know that many of these processes are also triggered unconsciously.  We don't have as much control over these "programs" as we think.

If you buy the analogy that your  mind is running all the programs inside of you for all of your different processes, do you think there is an optimal set of inputs these programs require to produce the correct output?  Are there different input requirements for your "base" programs (bodily functioning) and your "higher" processes (thought, emotions)?  What happens when you give these programs "garbage" input?

I think the inputs for your "base" programs are fairly obvious and could be summed up by the term "healthy living".  It's amazing to me how many people ignore these input requirements and the messages their bodies send them when the inputs are insufficient or of the wrong type.  Many in America eat way too much, eat the wrong kinds of foods, and never challenge their base programs through exercise.  And then they wonder why they can't seem to stay healthy.  We are all minds with bodies attached.  Human kind is much more than it's physical bodies, but without a functioning physical body it's pretty difficult to do what you want in life. 

For your "higher" programs, the "inputs" have more to do with what you let into your mind in terms of thoughts/ideas.  I think it's fairly proven that positive thought inputs help you think more clearly and also help you feel better emotionally.  The opposite is true when you let in negative thought inputs.  I believe the functioning of these "higher" programs also affects the outputs of the "base" programs.  You might be doing everything right from a "healthy living" standpoint, but if you are letting a bunch of negative "garbage" into your thought and emotional life, it can and usually does affect your health or how you feel physically.  Another way of saying that is that your thought/emotional life has a direct affect on your physical life.

My question for you is, how's your validation software working on these inputs?  Do you catch the negative "garbage" and throw it out before it causes problems in your internal processing?

There is much to unpack here and I hope to do more of it in future posts.  For this post I would just like to leave you with one simple suggestion to help weed out the negative "garbage" inputs:

Stop reading and watching the "news" religiously!

Oh, I can hear the groaning and the "What are you, crazy?" from many of you.  Before you turn me off, please hear me out and think about a few  things:

1. There may have been a time when journalism was an honest attempt to report what happened, but that day has been gone for a long time.  Each news outlet tries to get more sensational than the other because they know that sensationalism grabs readers / watchers.  They also know (or think) that people want the negative stuff in their news.  The next time you watch a national news program, take out a piece of paper and put a tally mark for every positive news event that gets reported.  No matter which network you watch, I can pretty much guarantee that your paper will be empty by the end of the program.  These guys have become the #1 virus threat to your mind!
2. Personally, I quit reading the newspaper over 15 years ago, and quit watching the news on TV over 10 years ago.  I don't think I'm crazy, and I consider myself to be up and on top of the current events that I care about.  When something big happens, I will hear about it through family, friends, or coworkers.  What I've found is that there are very few big "news" items that have any affect on my life or how I am living.
3. So if most of what is reported as news is sensationalized and negative, AND very rarely affects or changes how you will live your life, why do you need that input?

As I said earlier, there's much more that I'd like to unpack on this, but if you follow this one simple suggestion I believe you'll take the pressure off the validation software in your mind and allow yourself more processing power to work on all the other negative "garbage" inputs you have to deal with. 

Babies and Belief

The other day I walked into my house from work to find my 15 year old daughter standing near the door with the cutest little 6 month old baby girl in her arms.  The baby's name was Isla, and she looked at me as I came in and immediately smiled, and stole my heart.  I spent that evening "helping" my daughter with her babysitting tasks - I'm pretty sure I ended up doing more of the caring than she did, not because I didn't think she could do it, but because I just couldn't get enough of little Isla.  I know this sounds crazy for a guy my age, but I have had several thoughts since that night that I would like to have more kids.  I LOVED being a dad when my kids were little like that.

As I was sitting with little Isla in my lap, I thought about all the "discoveries" she was about to make.  Soon she will "discover" that she can sit up.  Then she'll "discover" that she can crawl, then walk, and then talk.  I put the word discover in quotes because in reality she is going to use every ounce of her determination to do what is necessary to get herself to the point where she can do those things.  What in her little mind could possibly make her BELIEVE that she can do what's necessary to actually achieve those things?  Why doesn't she look at it and say, "Oh, I'm too weak to do any of that.  I'll never be able to sit up or walk.  What's the use?"

Of course she doesn't say that to herself, and God willing she will grow into a strong and healthy little girl that runs and plays, and then she will grow into an adolescent and eventually an adult.  But somewhere along the journey of growing up, I'll bet good money that she'll lose that determination and belief in herself that she has as a baby.  Studies show that 90% of our own self-talk is negative, and instead of BELIVEING we CAN, most of us spend our time beating ourselves up and coming with reasons, excuses, and rationalizations on why we can't do certain things.  Sure, many of us have confidence in our own abilities to a point.  Some have more than others and end up achieving more in kind.  But my question is, do any of us really achieve our fullest God given potential?

The Bible says that we are all "fearfully and wonderfully made" (Ps 139:14) and also says that we are all "made in God's image" (Gen 1:27), and I believe that.  I don't believe that we are just a higher evolved form of animal.  So if we are made in God's image, which of the scenarios in little Isla's life best represent that?  Is it the determination and belief of the little baby, or is it the self-conscious and self-limiting beliefs of most adults?  If it's the determination and belief of the baby, and we aren't living our lives with that same determination and belief, are we actually dis-honoring God with our lives?  And what can we do to get ourselves back on the track of living with that belief in ourselves?

Well, if you were looking for me to have answers to these questions, I'm sorry to disappoint.  I struggle with the same self-limiting beliefs that I'm guessing most of you do.  I am determined to find the answers, however, so if I make any "discoveries" I'll be sure to blog about them.  I do think I've stumbled on a couple clues, and I'll leave you with them. 

As is apparent by the title of this post and what I've alluded to to this point, I think the first clue is BELIEF.  I looked up the definition of belief and found this:

acceptance of truth of something: acceptance by the mind that something is true or real, often underpinned by an emotional or spiritual sense of certainty

What do you believe about God's intention for your life, and what do you believe about yourself and your abilities?  Whatever the answer to those questions are, we live our lives accordingly.  I've heard people ask the question, "What would you attempt to accomplish if you knew (believed) you could not fail?"  That's a fun question to ponder in the hypothetical, but how much "belief" would be required for you to "know" with certainty you could not fail?

The second clue is TRUST, and it may be the required predecessor to belief.  There are many facets to trust that I need to explore and understand.  Do you trust that you are made in God's image, and therefore have the power of God within you?  Do you trust that God doesn't make any mistakes and that you are here for a purpose?  Do you trust that God wants what is best for you?  Do you trust the promptings of God in your heart, or do you listen to what others say you should or should not do?

We are all on a journey.  It would be a shame to get to the end of that journey and find out that we left a bunch of love, joy, and peace unfulfilled because of our own limiting beliefs.