What Matters To You?
I often hear the words – people make time for what matters to them. But I sit here and wonder if that is always true? I mean if that were true, then people would always be seeking the best for themselves and those around them – right? But do they? No! So if they don’t, does that mean that seeking the best doesn’t matter to them? Well, in this argument, it would seem to be logical but I just do not believe that it is true.
I believe that people do not manage their time well and that the things that are often the most important, get left to the last minute or sometimes not done at all. I can attest to this because I believe that writing matters to me. I believe that it is part of my calling and yet, I have only recently started making time for it – actually mandating it in my life. Does that then mean that writing didn’t matter to me until recently? No… it has mattered for a long time now. But I have simply failed to make it the priority that needed to have been from the beginning.
What are some of those things that are getting pushed to the back burner?
- Home Projects
- Dreams
- People
- Callings
- Moves – home or work
- Education
- Commitments to …. churches, non-profits and other organizations
- You fill in the blank here _______
If things that matter are getting pushed to the back of the list, the question comes up – WHY?
There are all sorts of books on habits and time management – one of my favorite book names is called Eat The Frog. In other words, do what you really don’t want to do first and then everything else gets easier after that. I don’t necessarily agree but it is a funny title. The way I see it, and in my own experience, I see how things slip into our days that need to get done but just seem to wedge their way in. Or we get distracted by social media, email or a phone call or a conversation that takes longer than we anticipated. Then there is that task that seems to take longer than we planned for. All of which pushed our days to the very end and when we look back, we see that we didn’t get done what we really wanted to do, even though we were busy all day.
The challenge with living this way is that it leads us to a never-ending rat race – where we step onto the hampster wheel in the cage – staying busy all day but accomplishing little to nothing but wearing ourselves out. We often feel frustrated by this and are left with a sense of hopelessness for our dreams and ambitions, and then our families are often left with nothing scraps of time – that leave them and us feeling cheated.
I want to challenge you to look at your day differently. Let’s begin looking at our day as a mountain. But instead of looking at the day as an arduous climb, let’s begin at the top. Hey, it’s your mountain and it is your dream – begin at the top, with the few things in life that are only found at the top – dreams, family, love and health. Hit those things first with all of your effort. Then work your way down the mountain, with the ever-growing list of other things that need to be done.
By beginning at the top, the things that are most important, never get forgotten and it will leave you with a sense of accomplishment that energizes the rest of your day. Make it 2 or 3 things that are essential to your future and your family. The mission here is to begin your day with a mountaintop experience and ultimately get to a point where you can stay on your mountain top all of the time.
You may ask – how do you do that, stay on your mountain all the time? I will get to that on another day. For today, I am going to sign off with this simple reminder – #YOURLIFEMATTERS!
God Bless,
Dr. Cliff
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