Making Heavy Assignments Feel Lighter
Today I am sharing one of the most significant learnings of my ENTIRE life. Here’s the big idea:
It is possible to make heavy assignments in life actually feel lighter.
Most of us believe we have two options in what we carry throughout our lives:
Go after big things in our lives but we have to be stressed, anxious, and exhausted because that kind of pursuit always feels so heavy.
To have a healthy pace and live with peace, we must forfeit doing anything too significant with our lives.
But what if we could carry heavier assignments without them having to crush us? Not only do I believe this is possible; I want to show you how you can do this.
Increase your weight and your number of repetitions.
Even if you don’t workout with weights, I bet you know how it works. You start by lifting weights that you can manage. If you want to get stronger, you need to increase the weight and the number of reps that you do with your weights. The same thing is true when it comes to what you’re trying to accomplish in your life. The reason I can try to raise $5 million now is because I was willing to put in the work to raise $1 million when we started our church. Fundraising used to scare me to death, but now it’s something I genuinely enjoy and I get asked to teach others how to do it. What are you avoiding because it seems hard? Imagine a day when that task feels like it’s no big deal.
Stop imagining what will happen if you fail. Start imagining what will happen if you succeed.
Why do we spend so much of our energy imagining the worst possible outcomes? I think it’s okay to imagine the worst for a couple of minutes, but please spend the bulk of your time thinking about all the amazing things that could happen as a result of you going for it. As of this writing, I’m pursuing many endorsements for my book from influential people. I’m sure they won’t all say yes, but I keep saying this to myself, “What if they would be willing to put their name on my book?” Take 10 minutes today and every day to consider the most amazing things that could happen as you take that big step forward.
If you take care of your inner life, you’ll have the capacity to take on weightier work.
The reason some assignments feel so heavy to you is because you have an inner world that isn’t set up to take on significant work. If you aren’t emotionally healthy, even the “light” assignments in life will crush you. If you are distracted, you’ll be kept from putting the necessary energy into what needs it most. What rhythms or habits could you start or stop that will give you the strength to do the things you’re meant for in this season?
Jesus said, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He didn’t mean you shouldn’t go after heavy assignments. He just meant that you could carry them in a way that makes them feel light.
