Joseph, Stay On Track!

In the past few days, I have been doing lots of thinking and personal reflection. My wife noticed something was up with me over the weekend and she rightly (but gently) quizzed me last night. I didn’t have any tangible response for her. But I figured out what it was: I needed some balance in my life. I have reached my threshold. I am simply doing too much! I don’t typically invest my time into activities of no significant value, whether spiritual or personal. Yet, it was necessary I re-evaluate my commitments.

My personal goals this year are enormous.

My weekly commitments are significant.

My daily life is full.

And I must avoid burnout. Let me deviate a little – Leaders perceive when they reach a certain threshold. Winners are humble enough to accept they have reached their limit. Such acceptance is not a sign of failure, rather a forward step towards optimising your capacity to keep winning.

So I reflected and decided on a few changes with immediate effect. Let me share one or two with you, so you can hold me accountable… and by the time my wife reads this post, I would have found a good reason why I did not discuss them with her first before posting (we talk about everything and she typically reads all my ‘critical’ blog posts before they go up!)

1. I will reduce my blogging time. (those of you that are already singing Hallelujah at the thought of less emails from me, I only have one thing to say to you “GOD knows the number of your house!”:-)) But on a serious note, I have decided to reduce the frequency of my blogging. I enjoy what I do and the way God inspires me to do it, but my priorities are changing to allow me serve God, my family, my life purpose and my church better. You will still read from me nonetheless. Oh sure, no escaping that!
2. I will invest more time on my book writing. I am currently looking for a Christian Author wiling to read and write a Foreword for my latest 99% complete manuscript. If you are one or know anyone you can recommend, please drop me a message here or via my website. And while you are doing that, let me know of any potential publishers I can approach.
3. I will buy and read more books. This is one I have struggled with recently due to my difficult timetable. I am very selective with books and have yet to come across something that stands out to be honest but I need to make extra effort. Feel free to recommend some, please.
4. I will listen to and watch more John Piper messages. His words shaped my attitude, passion and commitment to Christian living. I am watching his recent message on how the use of our money shows how we value God (“Let’s Be Rich Towards God”). Awesome stuff! Check him out on Desiring God.
5. I will further reduce my ‘physical’ time on social media like Facebook and Twitter. I have achieved significant success at this but I must do more! I came across and downloaded Bufferapp, a tweet scheduler which I think is fantastic. Now I am able to schedule up to 10 tweets over 3-hour intervals, which get automatically posted, allowing me get on with my day and never visit any social networking site.

These changes may be small individually but together will give me more family time, help me invest further into my spiritual and personal growth, and improve my overall productivity and wellbeing.

As you know, I am passionately committed to excellence and will do what I must to ensure I don’t waste my life. I know these steps (and there are more) will help me on the journey to my 2012 goals and beyond. How about you… are you happy where you are?

Grace and peace.

NB: You can follow me on Twitter @J_Iregbu to read what I am not saying on my Blog.