Sleepwalking

To-Do on Sunday, December 8th, 2024:

O clean my room

O shovel the driveway

O take Snoopy to the vet

O finish that school assignment

I love to-do lists, but I must remember that life is far more than checking off boxes.

Oh, and I don’t have a dog. But if I did, his name would be Snoopy.

If my life were only about checking off boxes, I could be replaced by a droid.

If I were to reduce my life to checking off boxes, I would be sleepwalking toward my grave.

It seems to me that we humans are decision-makers. Everything in life is based on the decisions we make. We decide what to prioritize. We decide what values to set. We decide how to handle interpersonal relationships, and yes, we also decide what to do. But more important than all those things are the decisions we make regarding these two questions:

• Why do we prioritize, value, handle, and do?

• How do we prioritize, value, handle, and do?

Our intentions and execution are what make the difference… our why and how.

A day that ends with a completed to-do list will be the least productive day of my life if I did all the tasks begrudgingly or for no reason at all.

A day where no task was checked off the list can be a great day if it is approached with a joyful attitude and a thankful heart.

A to-do list is great, but…

…if it does not reflect my priorities, it is harmful.

…if it does not align with my values, it is useless.

…if it does not prioritize relationships with God and people, it is empty.

…if I do not perform the tasks with the intention of honoring God, I’ve missed the point.

…and if I do not complete the tasks with a joyful heart, I do not truly complete them.

We are humans. We aren’t supposed to just do things. We are meant to do things with intentionality and in a certain way. This makes a difference.

Life is more than a to-do list. And we are more than robots.

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