I’m terrible at ToDo lists. I usually start the day with dozens of things on the list and by the end of the day I’ve managed to check off a few, but the next day I have the remainders of yesterday’s list plus enough new ones leave me losing ground.
Sticking to a ToDo list makes me cranky. I feel like I’m spinning my wheels. I may get some stuff done, but the benefit isn’t easily seen. It is very task based. Instead, I’m turning to a ToBe list. Instead of listing things I want to do, I list things I want to be. Today I want to be a good writer. With that goal in mind and the clear benefit in my mind, the tasks necessary to be a good writer (writing) come naturally.
I know that Sunday morning I will want to be a good teacher. Instead of focusing on doing (such as I want to teach a good lesson), focusing on being a good teacher makes me want to study and be better. Teaching a good lesson will then come naturally.
This year you probably started with resolutions. It’s been a few days, so chances are you’ve already broken them. I know I did. Focus this year, on being who you were designed to be. You might want to be a better parent. You might need to be a better son or daughter. You might want to be a better {fill in your occupation here}. We all need to be better role models. Maybe you want to be a better example of Christ. Make a list of the things you want to be and focus on those instead of what you want to do. This year, be all you can be.
Inspired by Chip Ingram.
Pic of the Month
You know the economy is bad when people are growing their own hats
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3 comments:
I try all the time to set goals, and keep failing, then I get discouraged. I think I'm going to try a ToBe list rather than a ToDo list, it sounds more uplifting! Also, the picture at the top of the page "Cooking With Pooh" is really funny! :-D
LOVE THIS!!!!!!!!!!!
Goes along with something I've been thinking about theologically. Legalism makes lists of things for us "to do" in order to be righteous.
Christ gave us things "to be" to be righteous. Loving, honest, giving, compassionate.
If you have a to do list, you can check them off and be done (self-righteous).
But if you have a to be list you can always be better. More loving, more honest, more giving, more compassionate. Thus more Christ-like and never self-righteous.
I'm stealing this for my own blog! But I'll give ya credit!
dm
You better give Chip Ingram some credit too. I heard him say "ToBe list" (in a 5 second clip on the radio) and ran with it. I need to see if I can get his entire message to see what it was about. I tried to put an "Inspired by Chip Ingram" at the bottom of the blog, but it kept hiding it (because like a moron, I put it in less-than and greater-than symbols so Blogger though it was HTML code). When I finally publish it in a book I'm tying it in to the BE-attitudes that Jesus taught in Matthew 5.
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