Every day of our lives are full of decisions to make. What to wear. What to eat. What kind of dance to do when your kid uses the potty...Oh, you don’t do that? Ok.
We all have decisions. Some decisions we make. Some decisions make us. The ones we make are sometimes small things that make a big impact. The ones that make us are total game changers. They may not even seem like that big a deal at the time—but.... they. change. everything.
Here are three of the best decisions I’ve made in the last year.
1) I stopped watching TV.
Total honesty here. I still watch TV. Wait, what? Did you just lie to us Nate? No. No. No. Maybe a better way to say it would have been “I stopped being addicted to TV.”
I cut the cable. Literally. I walked out to the side of my house and physically the cut the cable, tore it down, and threw it in the trash.
I worked in an entertainment retail store as a manager a long time ago. I saw dozens of people daily whose lives were consumed by the stuff they liked. Don’t get me wrong here—I still enjoy some entertainment now and then. I love superhero movies. I love college basketball. But I have too many important things to do to let some show run the show.
So I unplugged and checked out. It’s never a priority. I watch it on my time and my schedule if I watch it at all, which is becoming less and less. Guess what? I don't miss it.
2) I decided to be bad at email.
I don’t know about you, but my life is busy. At some point in the past someone somewhere decided that sending electronic mail was an efficient way of doing things—and I guess it is to an extent. But what I discovered in the last couple of years is that I can spend a lot of time looking over the dozens and sometimes hundreds of emails that pour in every day—or I can take a few of them a couple of times a week and try to make a difference.
So I gave myself permission to suck at email. If you email me I might not see it. And I’ve learned to be ok with that. Because honestly if what you have to say is actually urgent or important enough you really need to talk it through with me you can reach me another way.
Kind of liking cutting the cable—I’ve decided to ignore the inbox. That might not work for you. But it works pretty great for me.
3) I resolved to say yes more than no.
I am really good at saying no. It’s a skill I developed over and over and over again throughout my twenties. It seemed like I was getting asked to play music somewhere all the time. Or I’d get asked to do favors for people on a regular basis. I did a lot of it, but nowhere close to all of it. I would just say no.
I realized saying no so much wasn’t always the best reflection of this amazing God I love. What I’ve learned most about Jesus when I read about his incredible love is just how much and how often he said yes.
Jesus said yes to interruptions. He said yes to needs. He said yes to his friends, his family, and perfect strangers.
What would happen in my everyday world if I made it a goal to get to yes? I bet a lot. Stayed tuned, I’m working on this. I’ll let you know how it goes.
These are three simple things I’ve put into practice in the last year of my life. The changes they have brought have been amazing. What are some of the best decisions you’ve made?