You choose by not choosing

Wanna know something that makes my stomach turn?

When people say, "You're just so busy..." or "I know how busy you are..."

It always makes me think, "Oh, man, have I made you feel that way?" or "Did it take too long for you to get on my calendar?" or "Are you just following my antics on social media?" 😂

I think it makes my stomach turn because I never want anyone to think that my life is too full/busy for the things that are important.

So I'm coming to you today to say that...

1) I much prefer the word "full." 😂 (So you may hear me say "My life is full" and "Your life is full.")

and

2) Our lives are full of the things we have chosen. The things that are priorities. (Priorities to our heart, and priorities to the people who are important to us.)

You might be thinking right now, "But my life isn't full of the things that I've chosen, Dawn. It's full of other things."

And I just want to say to you, with all the tenderness of my 'busy' life...

(⬇️ Btw, you can watch instead of reading, or read on below. ⬇️)

We DO choose those things.

We choose them by not choosing. By not making decisions.

And we also choose by being too afraid to say that we can't or don't want to do something.

By not choosing, you choose to let other people choose for you.

With the 9-10 weeks we have left this year (3-4 of which are holidays), you probably have some very specific things you'd like to get done. Ways you'd like to end the year.

And as you let more and more things get chosen for you, it's going to get harder to make your priorities happen.

So I encourage you to look at your calendar right now, think about your priorities, see all the things that are happening, and make sure they're what you actually want to do.

(Versus filled up with "busy" things that aren't as important.)

If it is that way, I want to encourage you this very day to step back, take control, and turn some of that around, alright?

Make some calls and say, "You know what? When I first made this decision, I wasn't thinking clearly about everything that was coming up, and I want to apologize, but I'm going to have to say no to this."

And THEN, as the holidays start coming and people start inviting you to all kinds of things, keep all this in mind. And think in advance about what you can say to people to make sure your life is reflecting your priorities.

I had a wise mentor one time, and he would say, "My heart says yes, but my priorities say no."

Maybe your heart is saying (or will be saying) yes to a whole bunch of things...but your priorities say no.

Remember to distinguish that.

Decide what you want this holiday season to look like, or what you want these last 9-10 weeks of 2024 to look like. Take hold of it. Write it down. Make some decisions.

Samuel Chan says, "Just because you're busy, doesn't mean you're productive."

I know you have productive reasons for doing things. But consider removing some of that 'busy' from your life and making sure what you're doing is in alignment with what's important to you.

Now with that, what are some things you're a yes or no to for these last few weeks of the year? Would love to hear about them.

Have a blessed day,

Dawn