What you must give up

In order to succeed, there are certain things you must give up. (1) You can’t be friends with everybody. Jesus loved everybody but spent most of His time with twelve people, mentoring them. And He spent extra time with Peter, James, and John, His inner circle. At His life’s end, He could say, “I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4 NIV). (2) You can’t do everything. Because of the fast pace of our society, people tend to multitask. But shifting from task to task can cost you up to 40 percent efficiency. According to researchers, you will get more done focusing on one task at a time, not switching constantly from one task to another. David said, “One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek.” (3) You can’t be well rounded. Yes, there must be a balance between your private world and your public one. But it’s a myth to believe that you can know everyone, do everything, go everywhere, and have everything. You don’t need to know 99 percent of everything in life; you just need to focus on the 1 percent that gives you the highest return. If you’re too easily distracted, you need people in your life who are empowered to “call you on it” and help you get back on track. You need to know what you should and shouldn’t be bothered about. Bottom line: in order to go higher and achieve greater things, you must be willing to lay aside certain things. Even good things (see Hebrews 12:1-3).