{"id":4169,"date":"2017-08-20T09:00:55","date_gmt":"2017-08-20T14:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=4169"},"modified":"2017-07-23T22:51:30","modified_gmt":"2017-07-24T03:51:30","slug":"choose-not-to-overcommit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=4169","title":{"rendered":"Choose Not to Overcommit"},"content":{"rendered":"

One More Year of Choices<\/em><\/p>\n

By Barbara Dahlgren<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"Remember the old adage that if we want something done, give it to a busy person. This sounds great, unless we happen to be the busy people getting all that \u201cto do\u201d stuff dumped on us. Let\u2019s talk a little about overcommitting \u2013 a subject I happen to know a lot about from personal experience.<\/p>\n

Some of us think we can do everything. We think we can fix every situation. We think no one can do it (whatever \u201cit\u201d is) better than us. We overcommit to our jobs, our church, our families, our friends, various organizations, our children\u2019s school, and so on. While these are all worthy causes, they can add hours of work and stress to our already busy lives. In addition to these worthy causes, we still have to do our daily responsibilities such as grocery shop, cook meals, wash and dry laundry, build relationships with our spouse and children, visit ailing parents, pay the bills, walk the dog, and feed the cat.<\/p>\n

Did you know that overcommitting can lead to health problems, stress, depression, anxiety, and sleeplessness? Because we can only do so much, we get overwhelmed. We are in danger of a \u201ccrash and burn\u201d scenario. Then we are no good to anyone, especially ourselves.<\/p>\n

Whose fault is it when we overcommit? Ours! We are not victims; we are the product of our poor choices. We have to make hard decisions about how we use our time and energy. Sometimes it\u2019s difficult to know the difference between a need and a want. If we place needs before wants, we can sometimes weed out a lot of unnecessary commitments.<\/p>\n

Some of us overcommit because we don\u2019t know how to say no. We are people pleasers and afraid of disappointing others. Believe it or not, saying no won\u2019t kill us. We can say something like, \u201cNo thank you. I\u2019m very flattered that you asked me, but I\u2019m already overcommitted at this time. However, I\u2019ll be sure to pray that you find the right person to do this.\u201d Or if we think we might be able to do it, don\u2019t say yes too quickly. Say, \u201cCan I pray about his, check my calendar, and get back to you?\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of us think only we do certain things. Believe it or not, others can do it, too. It may not be done as well as we could do it, but it will get done. And guess what? Not every project needs to be done.<\/p>\n

Consider this example in Exodus 18\u2026 After Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, they still had lots of hardships and problems. Many days all Moses had time to do was sit, listen to people, and make judgments about their situations \u2013 from morning to night. When Moses\u2019 father-in-law Jethro saw this, he said, \u201cWhat are you doing and why are you doing it all alone?\u201d<\/p>\n

Moses answered, \u201cWhen the people have difficulties, they come to me, and I judge between one and another, and make known the statutes of God.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jethro basically replied, \u201cWell, this is good, but it\u2019s too much for you. You\u2019re killing yourself, son! Teach these people the statutes, choose men of truth who fear God and place them to be rulers of thousands, hundreds, fifties, and tens. Then only problems they can\u2019t solve will come to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"WOW! What a concept! It was a light bulb moment for Moses and he followed Jethro\u2019s advice. So even Moses, God\u2019s chosen and anointed one, had to learn a lesson about overcommitment.<\/p>\n

We can\u2019t do everything we would like to do, so we shouldn\u2019t try. It\u2019s better to do a few things well, than a lot of things mediocre. There is only so much time in a day. We must learn to balance our time and energy. Remember that when we say yes to some things, we have to say no to others.<\/p>\n

Suggestions for practicing this choice\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

We all have projects we have a heart for. It\u2019s not wrong to concentrate on what we feel called to do. Pray about it and try picking only one thing in this area, not a lot.<\/p>\n

Learn to set limits. Eliminate some activities and concentrate on others. Create boundaries and margins.<\/p>\n

When asked to take on a responsibility, like chairing a committee or being a ministry leader, ask what the job entails. What would you be expected to do? Whatever they say, plan on it involving at least four times more things than what they are telling you. Consider all this before you say yes.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Prioritize what you become involved in. Make a list of your top priorities. For example: God, spouse, children, grandchildren, church, charity work, relatives, job-related activities, and so on. BTW\u2026 don\u2019t confuse church involvement with having a relationship with God. They are two distinctly, different things. When opportunities come up, evaluate where they fit in your list of priorities. This will help you make a decision on whether to say yes or no.<\/p>\n

Jesus had something to say about priorities in Matthew 6:33: \u201cSeek first the kingdom of God.\u201d The point of this whole passage is not to ignore our responsibilities, but learn to put first things first. (Matthew 6:25-33)<\/p>\n

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One More Year of Choices By Barbara Dahlgren Remember the old adage that if we want something done, give it to a busy person. This sounds great, unless we happen to be the busy people getting all that \u201cto do\u201d … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4169"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}