We all make goals and plan what we need to do to end up where we want.
The side to success that we know and focus on is the dos on our lists. To accomplish those dos, we use discipline.
dis·ci·pline
1. training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline.
2. activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer.
3. punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.
4. the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc.: the harsh discipline of
poverty.
5. behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and
control: good discipline in an army.
That means we go out to run at the end of day when we just want to sprawl out on the couch.
We eat almonds for an afternoon pick me up.
We read from the books on our list.
We sit down to study for our test.
What’s on our list, we do. We need that discipline and progress to succeed.
How often do we end up overwhelmed and burned out? Exhausted and emotional, not knowing how we can do it all? Maybe we trek along okay but don’t find ourselves succeeding as much as we think we should.
There’s more.
There’s another important component to success and achieving your goals. That is not doing. This means learning to say no. We must have the maturity and wisdom to see our life as a whole. Realizing that all the pieces of our life are intertwined and knowing that saying yes to one thing will affect our ability to say yes to something else.
Saying no is as important as saying yes/do.
This requires discernment.
dis·cern·ment
: the ability to see and understand people, things, or stituations clearly and intelligently
That means saying no to the great deal.
Saying no to the plate of cookies. (Or seconds or thirds.)
Saying no to staying up late.
Saying no to signing up for that class.
Saying no to things those around you are pressuring you to do.
Decisions must be made with discernment and intention, remembering the end goal.
The ability to say no to the good so we can say yes to the best, to those things we are focusing on in this immediate stage of life, is hard. We want to do more, be more, say yes more, not miss an opportunity.
It takes strength, wisdom, maturity, intentionality, and discernment to be able to say no. This ability, even just understanding the need for this ability, is harder to learn and get a grasp on than the discipline of doing and saying yes to those items on your goals.
If we don’t learn to say no, we sabotage our ability to succeed, our happiness, and even our health.
This means saying yes to what is best for us (and our goals) and whom God want us to be and no to things that that look good, things we might even want to do, so we don’t waste our limited resources of time, energy, finances, and emotions that we need to reach our goals and focus on where God wants us to be.
Linking up to these fun parties!
