Pause and Prioritize…

Pause and Prioritize…

“Your mood won’t always match your mission.”

~Steven Furtick

Scripture:

The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.

~ Proverbs 21:5

Perspective:

Every single day, we make more choices than we even realize, simply as a natural part of our day.  However, the reason we choose to do something, does NOT have to be because it makes us happy.  In this day of instant gratification, it is “work” to do things that don’t make us happy in some way.  When we make choices, we usually base them on the level of satisfaction they are going to bring us, on how happy we believe they will make us.  Yet, if we live life for the purpose of being happy in each moment, we will almost certainly end up struggling to achieve our goals, since not all the steps to attain them will bring us happiness the way the ultimate goal will.  The process of achieving our goals in all areas of life: spiritual, family, relationships, health and fitness, growth and learning, professional, and financial, will most assuredly have parts that bring us happiness, as well as those parts that make us question ourselves and our goals.  If your goals were created thoughtfully and align with your values, don’t let doubt and adversity derail you, push on!

Ahh, wouldn’t life be wonderful if it was all sunshine, rainbows, and butterflies, but that is not how we learn, grow, and change; how we attain our goals; or how we become more like Christ.  Without the rain there are no rainbows; without the struggles, there is no growth, for it is in our discomfort zone that we grow.  We absolutely do not need to love everything we do, but we can still do it with love knowing we are doing it for the right reasons!  Much of what we should do every day has nothing to do with our happiness in the moment.  Think of the many mundane tasks we do over and over, day in and day out, which do not necessarily bring us happiness: dishes, laundry, getting ready for the day, paying bills, exercising, helping our kids do what they need to do and bringing them where they need to go, and the list goes on.  These are things we must do to stay focused and organized, so we are better able to achieve our goals and care for our loved ones; we do not do them because they make us happy in the moment, but rather because they are a way to achieve something greater.

Now consider Olympic athletes, do you think getting up at 5:00 in the morning, six days a week and working out like a dog makes them happy on a daily basis?  My guess would be no, but rather, that they do it for the purpose of achieving their ultimate goals, which do make them happy.  After getting off track over the last year again, I’m back to eating healthy, which is something I must be intentional to accomplish, since I am an admitted Carboholic.  Thursday night my husband and I went out to dinner to one of our favorite restaurants, the one that has what is maybe my favorite dessert, a Key lime Pie to die for.  When we were done with dinner, we were asked if we wanted dessert.  Did I want dessert?  YES, without a doubt, in that moment I would actually have loved to have access to an entire pie!  That pie would have brought me great happiness in the moment, but I would have been filled with regret not long after.  I had to pause and prioritize my goal of feeling healthy and losing those 20 excess pounds; without doing so that and every other time I am faced with temptation, I would be putting off my goals indefinitely.

Often what we want in the moment has such a strong pull, doesn’t it?  But we CAN be stronger than that pull!  You must be willing to give up short-term satisfaction, which is often followed by regret and guilt, in order to gain the big win of achieving your goals.  Every time you make the better choice for yourself, the one that aligns with your aspirations and values, you are one step closer to the goals you have set for the life you desire, and CAN have.  If you make a mistake, and you will, always seek to learn from it, and know that you will soon have an opportunity to make another choice, one that could potentially lead you closer to your goals. 

Throughout the Bible God encourages us to work hard, to persevere, and to be intentional, and Jesus came down to earth to demonstrate what that looks like for us.  The good news is, you are not expected to reach your goals alone, but rather the more you rely on God and His strength, the more He can help you reach them.  You must keep your eyes on the prize, on your ultimate goals, or the many choices and options that you face daily and that can easily distract you, will succeed.  It helps if you think about your goals and then work backwards; what does achieving them look like?  Take the time to visualize that and then write those essential steps down.  Keep looking forward while living in the moment…intentionally decide if you will do what you need to do to reach your goals or what you feel like doing in the moment.  The answer to that question will guide your life toward or away from your goals and the life you desire! 

Life Applications:

>When faced with something you don’t want to do, but know you should, ask yourself which choice will lead you toward your short and long-term goals, which one aligns with your values, the one you want to do OR the one you should do?  Will you choose the one that makes you happy in the moment OR the one that will bring you toward your bigger goals and thus greater happiness?  Create the good habit of pausing and prioritizing, andthen choose intentionally.

>>Consider the seven areas of life: spiritual, family, relationships, health and fitness, growth and learning, professional, and financial…what is your primary goal in each area, one that will positively impact your overall life?  Under each goal, write down the specific and crucial steps you will take to achieve each.

>>>Each morning reread these goals and commit to doing the steps to help you attain each, knowing you can triumph over momentary temptations.  1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind.  And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear.  But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”