Every other summer we embark on a huge family vacation to the beach. This year, 28 of us traveled from Georgia and Virginia and vacationed at Oak Island, NC. Yes, 28 of my closest relatives live in the same house for one glorious week with eight of them being children 11 and under. What a week!
My niece and her husband brought five of the eleven children (three of their own and two other cousins). During the entire week, we rarely saw any of them. They woke up early, got busy, and stayed busy all day. Oh, did I mention that one of their children is autistic and requires a great deal of attention. That did not stop them. As I write this, they are all in the pool at 9:00 pm after a full day of kayaking, fishing, hiking, walks on the beach, and a host of other activities. After the pool, it will be ice cream and then another walk on the beach followed by baths and bedtime.
But it’s not just vacation. They keep their children busy all the time. Not just goof off busy, but productive busy. Life lessons busy. Busy is a way of life for these children. As I mentioned earlier one is special needs (autistic), and one is adopted from a very broken family. One thing is certain though, these children are thriving. They are happy. They are not victimized, not allowed to use excuses, not allowed to complain, and not allowed to quit. If I were a betting man, I would put money on these children that despite their challenges, they will be successful in life.
Busy people are successful people. Busy people think. Busy people innovate. Today, most of our children are not “productive busy” as they spend countless hours on cell phones, social media, and video games, while parents are “busy” living their own lives while the digital babysitters coddle our children into a life of eventual destruction and mental illnesses. Today’s average family is “busy” with many things, but not the right things. Average people and families are not going to thrive. Average simply will not cut it in a world where average is leaving people in a mental and emotional mess.
Multi-billionaire Grant Cardone states that average and normal levels of activity is not enough to create real success. When you look at nature, it is busy. The forest is busy. The sky is busy. The seas are busy. Notice I did not say that they are in a hurry. Hurried people are not productive busy, but they are too busy for what matters. There must be something to being productive busy that God is trying to show us. Busy and productive people live stronger and emotionally healthier lives.
I’m not talking about being a work-aholic or chasing money 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I’m talking about purposeful, healthy, productive busy that involves work, play, helping others, maintains good physical shape, challenges our minds, and stays away from wasteful mind-numbing activities that eventually leads us into trouble.
Stop being average. Start being massively active and productive. When we stop falling into the average pace of the world and pursue greater stages of action several things happen.
1. Busy and productive people have stronger resistance to temptations.
2. Busy and productive people are more creative and innovative.
3. Busy and productive people develop greater self-awareness.
4. Busy and productive are mentally and emotionally stronger.
5. Busy and productive people are better problem solvers.
6. Busy and productive people find and create opportunities where others don’t.
7. Busy and productive people get the very most out of life.
Jesus was busy. There was no idle time in Jesus’ life. Jesus was busy serving, traveling, producing, and making others around Him think and evaluate their lives around eternity. Jesus was not busy with worthless and wasteful activities. He rested when necessary. He got alone to be with the Father, but His life was never characterized by worthless inactivity.
People who are not busy are usually in retreat. They are do-nothings. People who are in retreat or do-nothings are “busier” than people who are taking great action in the right directions. Retreaters and do-nothings are struggling emotionally, suffer from greater stress, and work harder making excuses to justify their inaction. It takes a lot of mental and emotional energy to live a life of retreat and inactivity. No wonder we live in a world of emotional and mental confusion. The average American life is consumed with the “busyness” of retreat and excuse making.
Life is meant to be spent, but it must be spent on the right things. Nature is busy. Heaven is busy. And man is meant to be busy too.
Get busy.
Comments