Hammer on Anvil '

Recently I have been trying to be the best I can be in everything that I do. I have had this renewed sense of responsibility. I'm really not sure what has caused this to surface. Could be anything from all the reading I have been doing to the new responsibilities I have been given at the new Student Minister job I received, or from role I play as husband and father to my wonderful family. Whatever has caused this, it has really made me strive for greatness in everything I do.

But as great an aspiration as it is, to be great in everything you do, it does come with problems. A problem? How can it be a problem. We are told in in Colossians 3:23 "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men." I'm not trying to argue that we should not try hard but there comes a problem when we spread ourselves too far out.

We have all worked a couple jobs, had families, school activities, church activities, recreational activities, and probably more activities than I can name! Sometimes the things we are involved with can take up every last moment of our time, leaving us feeling worn out and then we are not working the best we can at anything!

There are ways to help with this. How can we still work great at the things we feel as important without getting to the end of EVERY DAY feeling tired and just plain useless? I have a few ideas.

Get Michael Hyatt's ebook. It's Free! I may not be in college anymore but I still enjoy free stuff and I am sure you do to! It is called Creating Your Personal Life Plan. It is a short book, about 60 pages, and has worksheets in the back. It is all about making a plan for your life, exactly like the title implies. It is a great read and is a great start to really working greatly at all you do.

Evaluate what is important. Too often we place the same emphasis on all people or activities in our lives. The truth is, some things are just not as important. It is not as important to talk with Uncle Charlie's rattlesnake buddy's wife about her problems everyday when your marriage is falling apart! Some activities are just less important. Evaluate them and make a list. What is the most important all the way down to the least. This will help you find where you need to be investing more time and effort.

Practice saying no. I actually struggle with this one because I tend to try and please everyone. We can't! There is no way we can possibly pleas everyone in our lives, so honestly we need to stop trying. It is not a healthy place to be! Practice saying NO. And now that you have your list of important people and things in your life, it will help you to say no to the right things (the things further down the list.)

Find someone to help you through this process. We are not meant to go through life alone. Find someone who can challenge you to stay on the path you wish to be going. Let them know your hope, fears, and dreams. Let them take a look at your life plan and then let them help you! It is always easier to stay on the right track when we have someone helping us along.

Begin to rebuild. If there is an area in your life that is struggling right now and it is one of the more valuable areas, rebuild it. Protect it! Make sure that you are saying yes to that area way more than any other! If this is important to you, treat it like it is important and stop neglecting it and taking it for granted.

Like all my lists, this is in no way the ONLY things you can do to help, but it is certainly a great place to start. May God bless you as you stop and look at your life and evaluate where you should be going and how you should be getting there.

What things have you done to help you from falling into the temptation of being too busy? What have you done to protect the people or things in your life that are most important?

(This post was originally posted to www.brandonweldy.com)