‘Our lives function best in their God-given design- not culture-driven demands.’ But when we try to live our lives without God, when we try to do things without God, according to Chris Hodges, ‘we will lose our way, chasing after things that don’t really matter like a hamster on a wheel. His way is not about quantity but quality. God’s word makes it clear that it’s better to get the right things done, not more things done.’
‘God’s Word makes it clear that it’s better to get the right things done, not more things done.’- Chris Hodges
recruitthebest.org
We function bestwhen we focus on what matters, when we focus on quality, not quantity,
when we live our lives on purpose, and when we ‘live by design and not by default.’
If you really want to seize your day, you have got to build your life on the foundation of love.
Because love is everything. When you are in love with your life, when you are creating a better you, you can do more things for yourself.
You can seize your day when you are ‘not independent from God.’ Because ‘God desires that we be dependent upon Him, not independent from Him.’
‘You may have had a bad start in your life, but you can have a great finish.’ Because it is not how you start, but how you finish that matters.
We are not perfect. ‘We don’t always make the right choices, but we can always recover from the wrong ones.’ Embrace your choices, but learn from the wrong ones.
You learn from your mistakes by focusing on what is more important to us. But ‘We should not let things be more important to us than God Himself is.’
When you believe in God, you are not afraid to face your fears, your doubt. ‘When doubt comes knocking on your door, answer with faith.
Because faith is everything. ‘We can use our time wisely by putting it into the will of God.’ Success comes from using your time wisely, when you are with the right people.
What you are doing right now is getting you ready for your tomorrow. Do not do things like there is no tomorrow. ‘We often live as if there is no tomorrow, and yet tomorrow always comes.’ There is always tomorrow. Prepare.
To prepare for tomorrow, you have got to get ready. Because ‘what we do in this life has eternal implications and significance!’ Whatever you do, do it well. Do it better than other people.
Because ‘our present life is not the final chapters; it is merely the opening one.’
Where you are right now in your life is not the end of your life. It is an opportunity to take charge of your life, to make your own decisons.
Because ‘if we don’t make our own decisions, then someone else or something else will decide for us.’ Do not let that happpen to you. ‘The only way to get your day started is to start with God.’
But God wants you to do your part. Right or wrong, good or bad, do not be scared to do your best. ‘Do the best you can and keep growing!’
You will keep growing if you ‘choose at least one thing you want to accomplish each day.’ Can you do that? What is that one thing that you want to get done? What is stopping you from doing it?
Remember, your time is limited. So use your time wisely. Because ‘each day we spend our time, and once it is spent we cannot get it back.’ If you want to grow, do not abuse your time. Because ‘your time is yours and you can put it into God’s will for your life.’
Do not complain about your time. Because you can control how you use your time. ‘Complaining is useless and changes nothing.’ If you do not know how you are using your time, ask yourself. Because ‘our time belong to us, and we can priotize it wisely if we truly want to.’
We get more done when we take care of how we use our time. Use your time wisely, but do things the right ways. Do not compromise. ‘Compromise always costs us in the long run.’
Don’t delay things. ‘Do today what you will be happy with tmorrow, and then tomorrow you won’t regret what you didn’t do today!’ Don’t waste your day. Use your day to educate yourself, to get better.
That is what wise people do. ‘The wise man always lets his mistakes educate him.’ That is why they are better than others. The wise are not afraid to face their fears, their mistakes. They know that they are learning, not failing.
The wise love what they are doing. They don’t worry about what they cannot change. Because ‘a day of worry is more exhausting than a week of work.’
Instead of worrying yourself about what you cannot change, focus on forgiveness. Because ‘forgiveness is an attribute of strong people.’ And ‘God has provided total forgiveness and guilt-free living in Jesus.’
When you make mistakes, don’t get angry. Be determined to get better next time. Because ‘determination keeps us going when the going gets tough.’
Tough or not, don’t quit. Believe in yourself. Believe that you can get what you are chasing. ‘You can believe that ‘you can’, or ‘you can’t’ and either way you will be right.’ When things are tough, when people reject you, all you have left is yourself.
But do not let that stand in your way. Take your time to learn more about what you are doing. Because ‘a masterpiece is never created in a hurry.’ Don’t rush. ‘Slow down, enjoy the journey, and don’t rush. Life is too short, and rushing makes it shorter!’
Life is not about rushing ahead of others. It is about waiting for the right time. We get in trouble because ‘we don’t wait for things to happen to us; we happen to things!’
Wait for the right time, not the perfect time. Because there is no perfect time to do anything. But ‘give yourself time and room to be imperfect while you’re improving.’
Will you give yourself time to get better at what you are doing? You need it. That is what great learners do. They give themselves time to mature, to learn more about themselves. ‘The ability to move oneself to immediate action in dealing with what needs to be done is the trait of a successful person.’
And if you want to be successful, you must take responsibility for changing your life. Because ‘the only way things change is if we take responsibility to change them.’ If not, nothing is going to change.
To do that, to change yourself, you must first organize your life. Because ‘organization saves time and disorganization wastes it!’
Remember, if you want to make your dreams happen, you have got to take action. Do not just dream about where you are going, or what you want. If you are not careful, ‘your dream can become your nightmare if you don’t realize you need hard, order, and organization to see it become a reality.’
‘A better organization always equals less stress.’ That is what God wants you to do for yourself. God wants you to organize your life. ‘God loves us while we are changing just as much as He will once we have changed!’
Change is faster when we are doing it for the right reasons. If you want your change to last, believe that it will work. Because ‘anyone with true confidence has nothing to prove!’ Prove yourself to yourself, not to others.
Success is hard if you are just doing it to prove something to other people. If we are doing things to prove to other people how powerful we are, we won’t do really well. ‘We will do better in life if we desire to be useful rather than rich and famous.’
If you doing what you are doing to make a difference in the world, to help other people get what they want, then you are not proving yourself to other people. You are just doing your best. You are living your best life.
To really live well, to make a difference in the world, we must live for others. ‘If we are not living our lives to make someone else’s better, then we are not really living at all.’
But helping other people is not easy. It is better to help than not. Because ‘if we are not willing to risk what we have now, we will never find out what we could have.’
We take more risks when we love what we are doing. With passion, we can do more. Without it, we are not going anywhere. When things are tough, ‘passion keeps us going even in times when we want to give up.’
When things are tough, when you are alone, when you are chasing your dreams, stay positive. Why is that? Because ‘a positive mind leads to an energetic, enthusiastic life!’
But ‘don’t sit idly by and allow life to happen to you. Choose to live life ‘on purpose.’ Because a purposeful life is a meaningful life.
A purposeful life is an active life. It means you are not just here to waste your time, but to get things done.
To keep living, to keep doing, to keep changing, you have got ‘to keep swinging the bat.’ Do not change your mind. Because ‘God hasn’t changed His mind about right and wrong, but society has changed its mind.’
Do not change your mind. you are not a drifter. Instead, ‘offer to Jesus what you do have and watch Him multiply.’
And God will keep you in the game of life. But you must ‘make up your mind that you are going to finish no matter how long it takes.’
Remember, great things take time to grow. ‘Don’t let being ordinary stop or hinder you from trying to do something great.’ Do not give up. Follow your heart. Listen to people, but follow your heart.
But ‘don’t make the mistake of letting your mistakes cause you to give up!’ Just do your best. Yes, fear will try to talk you out of your dreams. Don’t fall for it.
‘You don’t have to struggle to change yourself because you are changed by the grace (undeserved favor and power) of God.’ Because ‘there is nothing more vital to living an effective, intentional, ‘on purpose’ life than a daily time with God.’
Just be you. You are not alone. God is with you. ‘God is very patient and will never give up on us.’ And do not give up on yourself. Because ‘we are capable of much more than we believe we are.’
When you are weak, to get yourself back up, ‘know who you are, hold your head up confidently, and enjoy the life that Jesus has provided for you.’
When we know who we are, ‘we don’t have to feel like doing what is right in order to do it.’ We just do it!
Because ‘the discipline of making the right choice no matter how one feels is the road to a successful life.’
Remember, ‘nothing good happens by accident.’ If you want to be successful, ‘you have got to take charge of your life.’
Source: Meyer, J. (2016). Seize the Day: Living on Purpose and Making Every Day Count. Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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