Flagpoles: go to your safe place

Do you remember doing fire drills in elementary school? The teacher would announce the drill ahead of time. Later, when the alarm went off, all the children would line up behind the teacher giggling to each other as they followed her outside to the designated safe gathering place. Maybe that safe place was the parking lot, the soccer field, or the flagpole.

The purpose of the fire drill was to train the children how to behave and what to do if there ever was a real fire. Perhaps you had an experience like me where there was a small cooking fire in the cafeteria and you actually had to use what you practiced. In my 5th grade brain, I was surprised at how well the drills had prepared everyone. Even though we were all surprised by the noise, we all acted calmly and did exactly what we were supposed to do.

The purpose of a flagpole, in regards to addiction recovery and self-mastery, is the same as a fire drill in elementary school. You practice getting out of a dangerous situation and going somewhere safe. A flagpole in this sense is a physical location that you run to where you will be safe from the danger of your daily battles. The best flagpoles are places outside your house that you run to when under attack. These places should be far enough away that it raises your heart rate to run there, but not so far away that the round trip takes more than five to ten minutes. The flagpole is useful whether the battle is with addiction or some other part of your value system. It is a place where you know you won't lose.

The aspect of running to your flagpole is important. Leisurely walk there gets you out of the vulnerable situation, but it doesn't remove the deviant chemicals in your system. In other words, you removed yourself from the battle but not the battle from your heart. The act of running, of raising your heart rate, of doing something physically strenuous, is one of the quickest ways to win your battles. If you don't raise your heart rate, you're postponing the battle not winning it.

An excellent way to "level up" your Flagpole and increase its power is to include Warrior Chemistry in it.  One way to do this is to imagine a loved one who needs your protection at your Flagpole.

Once you choose what or where your flagpole will be, it is crucial that you practice, or drill, running to it at least once a day until it becomes instinctual to go there when you are being attacked. The more times you drill running to your flagpole, the easier it will be for you to win. The people I know who benefit most from their Flagpoles run to it at least three times a day, whether they are being attacked or not.

Running to your physical flagpole is almost always best, but sometimes that isn't possible or appropriate. Perhaps you are at a business meeting, in a class, at church, or stuck in traffic. That is when it would be appropriate to use a mobile flagpole.

These mobile tactics work better against less intense battles and may need to be repeated several times for more intense battles. One of the most common mobile flagpoles is push-ups. If you can't do push-ups, there are other things you can do while driving or seated. One of the more effective mobile Flagpoles is known as a Thought Shield. A Thought Shield is a picture or note you carry with you that is both meaningful to you and helps bring you back to a good place. Many people use a favorite picture of Jesus Christ, a note card with their reasons for fighting or a scripture they are memorizing, or perhaps a picture of their family. You carry this item with you at all times, and when you are tempted you pull it out, look at it, and say "This is my Thought Shield." When used correctly, a Thought Shield trains your brain to automatically reroute thoughts of temptation to thoughts of your Savior.

There are other things that are helpful, though they are rarely as effective as a real Flagpole or Thought Shield. These often come in the form of personal quirks and reminders. I squeeze my wedding ring between my fingers. I know other guys who shake their head, snap their fingers, squeeze their fingernails into their palms, or other things like that. They can be good grounding techniques that will keep you safe enough until you are able to run a real Flagpole.

In our spiritual war against Satan and sin, almost every battle we lose involves a misuse of our body. Since that is the case it would make sense that we need to use our body to win. One of the quickest and most effective ways to do that is by sprinting to your Flagpole, your safe place.

To hire me as your life coach where we can create a plan to put the above principles into practice for you, follow this link.  Fighting Like a Dragon - Life Coaching