As a mom, do you frequently feel overwhelmed? Do you already have WAY too much to do and can’t even begin to think about life mission? Check out this KEY element for knowing how doing more is really doing LESS!
Full Transcript
When it came time to sell the last house we built, the market improved and we had taken good care of it. When we sold it we made a good amount of money on it. So I made a decision about what we were going to do with the money. First of all, we were going to save a lot of it and pay off some debts and put some down on our new home. But I also decided that I was going to replace my old worn-out furniture. I had been embarrassed about this furniture for a long time. When people came over to my house I’d make apologies in my mind or sometimes out loud about how my furniture looked because it didn’t feel like it was really a reflection of who I was. I wasn’t comfortable with it.
That’s why I decided that I was going to get new furniture and make my house pretty. I did something else, too, that I’m so glad that I did. After thinking about it for quite a while I made the decision that I was not going to buy anything–not a picture, not a lamp, not an ottoman, not a chair–that I was not absolutely in love with. Of course I wanted the furniture to come together and look like it matched but the most important thing was that I loved every single piece. I wanted to feel like my home was a reflection of me and who I am. Today my house is refurnished and it’s beautiful! I’m really proud of it! When people come in I feel completely comfortable. I feel like they’re seeing a home that’s a reflection of who I am and my best self.
The reason that I’m telling you this story is that I’ve been hearing from a lot of you lately about this. I keep hearing, “Well, I’m just so strung out. I’m so over committed. I have too many things to do. I’m excited about the MDM Academy and I’m excited about life mission but I already feel overwhelmed.”
Here’s the thing, that’s the whole point! The whole point is for you to stop doing everything and stop being everything to everybody. That’s exactly what the MDM Academy is for that’s exactly what it’s built to help moms do.
One of the many awesome books that we use in the Academy, is in the bonus section and there’s a lecture on it as well. It’s called Essentialism and one of the many cool things that we do in the Academy, is learn to become essentialists as mothers.
I want to read you a little bit from this book about what essentialism means because it’s really, really cool. It says, “The way of the essentialist is the relentless pursuit of LESS BUT BETTER. It doesn’t mean occasionally giving a nod to a principle, it means pursuing it in a disciplined way.”
Now listen to this moms, especially moms that are feeling overburdened and strung out and have too much to do: “There are far more activities and opportunities in the world then we have time and resources to invest in and although many of them may be good or even very good, the fact is that most are trivial and very few are vital. The way of the essentialist involves learning to tell the difference, learning to filter through all those options and select only those that are truly essential.”
And that’s a lot of what’s going on in the MDM Academy. We do a lot of reading things, learning principles, applying principles and getting everything out of our lives that’s not really vital and doing only those things that are essential. “Essentialism is not about how to get more things done!”
That’s the point moms!
Mission isn’t one more thing you tack on to your life. Mission is the way you live your life. When you’re mission driven you’re an essentialist. You recognize what you’re good. You recognize what’s most important. You see your values, you see where you’re headed, you’re living the principles and therefore you only say yes to what is very best and what is most important. Just like I only said yes to the pieces of furniture that I absolutely loved and I wanted to have in my home. You will learn to sort through all the opportunities, all of the things that are presented to you and only say yes to what’s most important.
“It’s not about getting more things done it’s about how to get the right things done. It doesn’t mean just doing less for the sake of doing less either. It’s about making the wisest possible investment of your time and energy in order to operate at your highest point of contribution.”
This is so absolutely key. It’s what we have to have to be doing.
“It’s living by design and figuring out where our highest point of contribution is.” And you can only know where your highest point of contribution is if you 1) know yourself and you 2) know God and you 3) know true principles and you 4) know what the needs are in the world. Guess what those are? Those are the first 4 Laws of Life Mission that you’ve absolutely got to learn and embrace and live if you’re going to be mission driven.
I’m NOT asking you to do more! I feel like a lot of moms are contacting me saying, “Why are you asking me to do more?” I’m not asking you to do more. I’m actually asking you to do to do less. I’m asking you to do less in a very directed, disciplined, purposeful way because you know what is most important. Now, of course, you’re a mom and you know that motherhood is most important. You’re already making motherhood important but what about all the other stuff? What about all the other busyness? What about all the other things that people ask you to do and all the other opportunities that are presented to you? What about them? That’s where The Mission Driven Mom Academy comes in. That’s where this book Essentialism comes in. That’s why we want to learn to be an essentialist.
So, remember that being a Mission Driven Mom is about doing less but better. It’s about preparing ourselves by living those 4 Foundational Laws of Life Mission so that we are ready when God’s call comes.