A GOOD idea is not necessarily a “God idea” says John Mason. He meant that there are many good, noble things in life you can engage yourself in, but you don’t have to, because you will lose your focus. Just because you can, it doesn’t mean you should.
Would Einstein become a brilliant scientist if he had busied himself on mastering the violin, or be a professional moto-cross biker aside from his scientific explorations? It’s no good to be a jack of all trades and master of none. It’s only when we are focused that we are able to get results. No other key to growth and success is as overlooked as this is. The temptation is always to do a little bit of everything.John Mason would further advise, “There is power in the
word no. No is an anointed word. It
can break the yoke of over-commitment and weakness. No can
be used to turn a situation from bad to good, from wrong to right.
Saying no can free you from burdens that you don’t need to
carry right now. It can also free you to devote the correct amount of
attention and effort to God’s priorities in your life.” Stephen Covey, in
his best-selling book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” says, “You have to
decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage—pleasantly,
smilingly, unapologetically, to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way you do
that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is
often the ‘good.’”
One of the wisest advice of many self-help books to achieve
success in one’s profession is to be an expert in a certain field, that you
become a sought-after person, because of your unique skill that no one else
could do. In other words, you are the best in that business. Be the
best programmer, the best cook, the best athlete, the best teacher, etc. that
you become irreplaceable in your workplace and other companies would love to
have you. And this unparalleled status can only be achieved if you focus
on where you are good at.
This however would not mean that we lessen our attention on the
other important things in our life such as God, family, friends, and
relaxation. The focus we are talking of here not only refers to our
work or profession but focus as well on other aspects of our
life. It means giving ample time to the different roles we have to
play in life as a father or mother, husband or wife, office worker, student, a
friend to our barkada, etc. Otherwise, our work becomes our life, and will turn
us into a workaholic when there’s more to life than just work.
C.S. Lewis said when we put second things first (instead of
putting first things first), we not only lose the first things but lose
both. When we focus only on one thing in life, let’s say, our
socializing activities with our friends, and neglect all else such as God,
family and work, in the end we destroy our relationships with God and family,
our job performance suffers, and we never would really enjoy our social life
because of the guilt we carry for having neglected the more important things in
life. Prioritizing the first things gives peace of mind and a more
enjoyable life.
And lastly John Mason would tell us, “Yes and no are
the two most important words that you will ever say. These are the
two words that determine your destiny in life. How and when you say
them affects your entire future.” (CC)
No comments:
Post a Comment