Make Yourself Amazing in April...and Beyond!: Day 16

The challenge from Day 15 was to change our attitude towards work. Since I'm off work today taking care of my wisdom tooth-less husband, I've got time to reflect on what I do like about my job and reasons why I shouldn't view it as a hassle or chore. I really want to make a list or a printable to keep on my desk for those stressful days when I can't remember why I wanted to be a librarian! Did anyone do this activity? Is anyone still following along? I know it was hard to keep up with this series when I had some pretty big gaps, but I hope there are people still out there reading! =)

Today's chapter is called Don't Hurry!

Source for original photo

Focus Verse: She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day. (Proverbs 31:18, The Message).

Sarah starts this chapter by asking if anyone has ever been in a real hurry only for everything to go wrong? I had a day like that last week. I came home from the gym to take a quick shower before going to work, and somehow, I started falling further and further behind. Then, when I was rushing to work, I had obstacle after obstacle and felt frazzled the rest of the morning. I would love to say that this was an unusual morning for me, but the truth is, I've spent a lot of time hurrying lately.

This isn't the focus verse, but this verse is worth showcasing also:

Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry puts you further behind (Proverbs 21:5, The Message).

I think I should get this verse tattooed across my forehead!!

Sarah wrote these words, but I feel like they could be straight from my mouth also:

I get in a hurry when I'm running late. Usually when I run late, it's due to a lack of careful planning. Either I hadn't set my alarm right, I hadn't planned for traffic, or something unexpected comes up.

Sarah has another great quote a couple of paragraphs later: "If you don't want to be in a constant hurry, you've got to make time." Everyone has the same amount of time in a day, and yet some people are always in a hurry and seem to get nothing done (guilty, unfortunately). You can't create more hours in a day, but you can become more efficient. The same technique that I wrote about yesterday in relation to stress reduction applies here too; if you want to be more efficient, you have to say no to some things. You have to figure out what is the most important to you and figure out how to keep those things in your schedule. You may have to ditch the rest while you're finding your footing and becoming more efficient, but you may find that you don't want to regain the extra stress!

You can also find alternatives to things that stress you out. For example, Sarah and her husband prioritize time with each other and their friends on weekends, so they chose to hire someone to clean their house in order to save time and not feel guilt about what they "should" be doing on weekends. You can apply this same principle in your life by outsourcing or bartering with someone.

Another way to find more time is to be efficient at what you do. Look for ways to be more efficient. Ask for help if you need to

Being busy can stop people from being amazing, and none of us want that, right? Learning to reduce busyness and stop hurrying will be so beneficial in the long run, and if we're sowing into our future, this would be a great seed to plant!

One final point that Sarah makes is to enjoy the journey of life. You may want an unpleasant situation to change as quickly as possible, but God is more interested in changing us- our attitudes, habits, and behavior. If you hurry through life, you'll miss the valuable lessons and character building.

Here's another great quote to end this chapter:

Don't hurry through life; God might want to teach you something that will boost you to greater heights. Enjoy the journey and praise Him for the wonderful gift that it is. Enjoy where you are right now. Don't waste time wishing things were different and hurrying them along. "For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven," (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There is a time for everything, so enjoy the time you're in now and don't rush past. 

Today's challenge: What do you need to remove from your schedule so that you aren't in such a hurry? Rather than "no," are there alternatives that you could employ to make life easier? You might have to be creative, but you will reap great benefits in the long run.