Stay focused

There is only so much you can do. There is only so much that you can control. If you want to be frustrated beyond belief then try and do everything and control everything. Seems the hardest thing to learn is realizing that you can't fix it all. The next thing that you must learn is that it's not always up to you to fix. You see as a leader that's hard to swallow. Leaders are fixers. We see the problem and then develop a plan to get it fixed. We're used to dealing with action plans, achieving budget goals, and taking the steps necessary to get the results we need. But I think it's important to always remember, some things are under your control or supervision, while others are not. Realizing what is and what isn't can help determine the level of our involvement and focus. Once we know what it is we can fix or control, then stay focused on it and don't get distracted by the things you can't do anything about. Doing this will help you to stay focused to achieve better results and leave behind what's not yours to deal with.

In the movie "Apollo 13" the crew in outer space has very little battery power left to power up the space module. They must determine the exact amount of amperage needed to power it back up and then by flipping switches in a specific order they begin to turn on the equipment. We watch as each piece of equipment powers up and the amperage usage creeps up and up until they come dangerously close to overloading the amount of power supply available to them and risk not being able to start the space module back up. If they go over the amount of amperage they have available to them, nothing will work. Kinda like us isn't it. Sometimes we extend ourselves too thin, we drain ourselves of our energy worrying, concerned about, and even stressing over things we have no control over. Then nothing works! We don't have the energy or stamina to deal with the responsibilities we are accountable for. So we don't perform, we don't achieve, we don't accomplish our goals, and we wonder why life is so hard. We can worry about the news and what we hear on it, yet most of it we have no control over.

Many people today are worried about many things. The news will scare you to death. The economy is in rough shape. We're probably all in for a rougher ride before it gets better. Focus on your life and what you can do to impact your situation. God is with you and believe it or not, He's aware of all that is happening... let Him take care of all the stuff you can't or shouldn't. Focus on what He'd have you do for your family, in your job or career, in your church, with your friends in your community. Be ready to serve wherever God leads you, but remember this... Don't spread yourself so thin that the great gifts that God has given you today become lost because of your lack of focus on what's important to you now. Love your kids, love your spouse, work hard and ethically for your employer and seek God's relationship and direction in your life. God promises not to give us more than we can handle... so if you feel overwhelmed, maybe, just maybe it's not God that piled the plate so full. Think about it.