Starting Your Day

Today I was reading a Fast Company article titled How Successful People Do with the First Hour of Their Work Day and it made me appreciate again how davening is one of the most parts of my personal routine.

The author Kevin Purdy shares several observations but I think this to be the most relevant:

One smart, simple question on curated Q & A site Quora asked “How do the most successful people start their day?”. The most popular response came from a devotee of Tony Robbins, the self-help guru who pitched the power of mindful first-hour rituals long before we all had little computers next to our beds.  

Robbins suggests setting up an “Hour of Power,” “30 Minutes to Thrive,” or at least “Fifteen Minutes to Fulfillment.” Part of it involves light exercise, part of it involves motivational incantations, but the most accessible piece involves 10 minutes of thinking of everything you’re grateful for: in yourself, among your family and friends, in your career, and the like. After that, visualize “everything you want in your life as if you had it today.”

Isn't that what tefilla is all about? Recognizing what you have to be grateful for, reciting motivation incantations, and even wrapping oneself in a prayer shawl!

I have previously written about the struggles of getting out of bed in the morning to rise in prayer, but I think this article illustrates that this is a habit worth struggling for and it leads to a significant ROI for the practitioner.

Gaming, Willpower, & Davening

I hear that one of the biggest reasons that people don't daven more is that there just isn't enough time.  Who doesn't wish that they could have few extra 'bonus' hours in the day to sleep, read, relax or get work done.

I recently watched a TED talk by Jane McGonigal titled The Game that Can Give you Extra Ten Years of Life in which she discusses how her background in gaming, research in psychology, and recent illness brought her to a discovery of how to lengthen one's own lifespan.

The lecture is interesting and engaging and my motivation in sharing this speech was McGonigal's comment that "willpower works like a muscle; it gets stronger the more you exercise it".  Isn't this one of the basic tenets of teaching?  When I think of my personal davening habits, I often conceptualize it as a type of spiritual fitness.

One final teaser for those that haven't been convinced to take the 19 minute plunge, McGonigal explores the concept of post-traumatic growth, a psychological concept that often gets overshadowed by post-traumatic stress syndrome.  "Is there a way to get all the benefits post traumatic growth without the trauma - without hitting your head in the first place?" McGonigal asks.  She explores four kinds of strengths or resilience that contribute to post-traumatic growth - and shares exercises that you can practice (many of which are part of our normal tefilla experience).  One example is her advice to "not sit still" - seems like a good prooftext for shuckling (rocking in prayer)! 

The Speed of Prayer

I have asked this question a few months ago and want to ask it again for the sake of a deeper conversation.  Is a longer tefilla better?  Or is less more?

My motivation behind this questions is the fact that when some people daven or observe people in the depths of prayer, there is a sense that a skilled craftsman can be in deep focus.  But this is completely an outwardly judgmental as it is impossible to know the true focus and intention of this person. 

Take for example the shmoneh esrei prayer, also known as the “silent devotion”.  There is a custom, when praying in a school or synagogue, to wait for the rabbi to finish his/her personal davning before starting the public repetition.  This waiting period can either lead to a great sense of awe amongst the congregation or a lot of chit-chatting in shul to pass the time.  I have a friend who went to a yeshiva which customarily waits a good five extra minutes from when the students finish their shmoneh esrei and the Rabbi concludes – he has taken on the habit of opening up a book. 

Here is how I evaluate if the speed of my tefilla is appropriate:  I try to start out intensely focused on the purpose of my prayer and the words that I am saying – if (WHEN) I lose focus and notice that my mind is wandering I will speed up saying the words in a precise manner but not wanting to draw them out.  Track how far you get before you lose focus, 

I once met a rabbi who was the first to finish his personal tefilla in shul and many congregants were a buzz about how quick he davened.  I finally mustered up the courage to ask him what his methodology for tefilla was and he responded in one of the most honest and refreshing ways – he said that it was hard to keep his mind on task so he says it quickly with purpose. 

So which do you think is better, a quick tefilla or a slow one?