Ok it's time to be honest. How many of us really take time to self assess? How many of us really stop our busy lives, take time away, and re-evaluate who we are and what we are doing with our lives. We have to go deeper than simply looking at our external selves in the mirror. I am thanking God almost every day as I walk over to my study carrel, classes, etc. that I am doing this year away from ministry. Today, I had a professional development meeting with psychologist on campus. Well, let's just call it what it was...a glorified counseling session. Sure he gave me some great ideas about my ministry and vocation, but at least what I took away from the hour I had with him was some new and refreshing ideas regarding my philosophy of life, if you will. Here are some of the lessons I learned this morning.
1. Life is more about time spent with the Father than the busyness that we often surround ourselves with. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves, "Are we running our schedule or is our schedule running us?" A good question for most extroverts with a penchant for pleasing.
2. What are your boundaries? I do not like saying no. For some of us, we need to say yes more. But for me, no is good word!
3. Self-management involves more than just time management. It really deals with your physical life, spiritual life, emotions, etc. How are you doing in this area? Are you healthy in one or 2 of these areas, but not overall?
4. There are evidences of deeper issues in everyday life, if you stop and take time to self-evaluate. For example, highlighted this morning was my bent to breadth and not depth in my relationships. This bubbles over into my ministry and personal life as well. How am I feeding my soul and going deeper with my family, friends, and even my church where I am ministering?
Well this is a good start for me, but what about you? Take time today to stop and get away and look again at what you are doing and why you are doing it. Become more self-aware, because then you can determine next steps in life!
