Every day when I wake up, before I even get out of bed, I say to the world, “I greet this day with joy for I am blessed.” I say it with a smile and I say it repeatedly as I head into work. Sometimes I say it out loud. It gets my mind and heart in the right place. Specifically, I am focused on what is positive and good and I am recognizing the reality of God in my life.
MY MIRROR
I also have written on my bathroom mirror with a dry erase marker the following…
Hold the picture
Make the space
Receive the gift
Honor it
PIC of the Day…
…and then a single word to encapsulate what I intend to be the key focus of my day. For example, right now it says, “Execute” Don’t worry, I won’t be executing anyone. I realized the other day that I had way too many unresolved plans, so my focus for a couple of days was executing what was already planned. Many words have appeared in that slot: create, praise, care, act, etc.
WHY YOU NEED AN INTENTION AND NOT JUST A TO-DO LIST
Let’s use going into a grocery store as an analogy. If you are a good shopper, you will go into the store with a list. Without a list you tend to waste time roaming, forget to get things you need, and pick up a number of things you probably don’t need. Similarly, if you want to have good day, you will go into it with a to do list. Without one you spend excessive time needlessly on things that don’t matter to you and get failing to accomplish some really critical tasks. A to do list can reduce a lot of wasted time, stress and frustration. It can also replace those things with efficiency, reduced stress and a sense of accomplishment. Not bad, but what if you want a great day. What if you want to be a super shopper in the grocery store of life, not just an average shopper?
MOVING FROM GOOD TO GREAT
Great shoppers don’t just have a list. They have a meal plan for the week. They have a plan behind the list. Their trip to the grocery store isn’t driven by the phone call, “Hey, honey we need a few things from the grocery store, could you pick them up on the way home?” That scenario can be a life style to someone without a meal plan. People shopping from lists without a meal plan tend to be driven by what they want in the moment not what they need. That’s a formula for poor health and eating habits and numerous needless trips to the store.
Having an intention for the day is like having a meal plan. Your intention drives what is on your list and insures your list is meaningful. It’s meaningful because with intention your list because something that has a focused purpose. An intention also helps insure that you are not just reacting to immediate needs. Do you really want your day to be a constant scurry of reaction? Then don’t live without intention.
WHAT IS GREATER THAN GREAT?
Have a godly intention for your day is greater than great. Some people have a meal plan, but the meal plan is garbage for their bodies driven by their desires, not necessarily what is nutritious for them. They are highly efficient at sustaining a poor life. That’s what happens when you have clear intentions that are not godly. If you want to have great days that are blessed days, then set godly intentions. For example, let your pic for the day be: compassion, grace, mercy, joy, praise, kindness, etc. Let that intention both define what goes on your list and how you do whatever is on your list.
So what is your intention for today. I hope it is a godly one and I hope you have a greater than great day. Peace from The Practical Disciple.
P.S. By the way, I don’t have a “to do” list, I use a “joyful offering” list. Want to know why, then read the post, Eliminate your to do list and never have to do anything again.