Three Big Things -

by Devin Dummel

I wouldn’t call myself a hoarder, although you’ll probably find that in my world I hang on to more than I should.    I’m a collector of sorts and I have a hard time just holding onto one thing.  There are so many things that I enjoy, and many things I plan on doing.   I figure I can hold onto all of it because one day I will get around to it.

Because of this desire to hold on to too much, I often try to fill my life with too much as well.  Too many meetings.  Too many obligations.  From one promise to the next, there are times where it feels like there is little time to breathe, let alone any time to do the things that are best for me.

If you are anything like me and find yourself overworked and overwhelmed even at this early stage of the New Year, I would like to share with you something I recently read which has started to change the way I think and feel about this new year.

 

“I can only do three big things in a year.  That’s it.  Just three.”   -Donald Miller

 

This simple statement has really changed the way that I am looking at my life in the context of a new year.  I’ve never been the kind of person who struggles with doing things or even doing things that I believe are worth doing.  But I’ve had lots of trouble trying to do too much, and trying to be too many things to too many people.

I thought that was just part of becoming an adult, gaining more responsibility and that I would be able to handle it.  But the reality is – I struggle to handle it all.  And the truth that I have come to discover is that I can only handle so much.

So this year I am going to take Donald Miller’s advice.  I am going to focus on accomplishing three big things this year … and that’s it.  I’m not going to allow every good idea to sway me and pull me away from the three big things I believe God wants me to pour myself into this year.

Warren Buffet said, “The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.”

Knowing that helps me understand that if I want my three big things to succeed this year, then I need to stay focused and it’s okay to say no to almost everything else that won’t help me accomplish those three big goals.

Your three big things could be absolutely anything.  It could be something fun like planning a family vacation or something huge like going back to school.  It could be work related or even something crucial like learning parenting skills to deal with your teenager.

Whatever you decide on, I would encourage you to pray about what you think God would have you pour your time and energy into.  Once you’ve settled on the three big things you want to accomplish this year, share them with your family and ask them to help you stay focused.  Don’t feel bad saying no to some good things in order to accomplish your three big goals.   There is no shame in staying focused on the things you believe God wants you to achieve.

If you’re like me and always feeling like your running from one thing to the next, feeling like you can never quite get accomplished all that you hoped to accomplish.  I want to encourage you this year to only tackle three big things.  That’s it.  Just three.