Pitfalls of Wrong Focus

Doing the same thing, in the same way, and expecting a different result equals insanity. We must make different decisions if we want different results.

Homemaking is about cleaning, decorating, cooking, and generally creating a safe, comfortable place for your most cherished loved ones. To make it about something else misses the point and will lead to not actually fulfilling the intent of homemaking.

Working for an employer is about performing the duties you've been hired to fulfill, diligently, on-time, in the manner the employer desires. To do something else would mean you are not working within the parameters of being a good employee. You might be busy, but you aren't fulfilling the design as it has been laid out, and thus, ultimate success will not be recognized.

Education....gaining knowledge and understanding about a particular subject, demonstrating mastery according to the syllabus as determined by the instructor.

College-- It is for gaining understanding and knowledge about a particular area of study, with the successful completion resulting in a diploma which further leads to gainful employment. To do less than this is not success. To make it about something else is to not fulfill the purpose for which college has been designed. You might be busy, but if the end goal is not met, success will not be achieved. 

When we make something about something other than what it IS designed for, we set ourselves up for failure. Unwittingly we have expectations that must be met outside the parameters of the confines of the task. If homemaking is primarily about having friends over, we've made it about hospitality....which means our focus is not actually on our family. We might have a vibrant ministry to ladies coming into our home, all the while neglecting the creation of a peaceful respite for our weary husband.

We might make our place of employment about pushing our political agenda or evangelism, but if we are not dutifully fulfilling what we've been hired to do, we are not good employees and are not being careful stewards of our employer's resources or our time as a worker. Is evangelism good? Yes, but if we are not hired as an evangelist, we better not be slothful about our WORK.

If we attend college with secondary or tertiary priorities as our main driver, there is going to be trouble when those side issues fall by the wayside. What we can completely control in college is the effort we put into the academics. Friends coming and going will not change that, injury will not ruin that, nor will not being good enough to stay on a team. Character development and growth in Christ are terrific byproducts of attending university for the right reasons when we get involved in attending and serving at a local church.

Ask yourself, are you embarking on an aspect of life with the same approach you've had before, expecting different results? Let's not plan to fail. Let's plan to succeed and keep the main thing the main thing.