Say “Yes!” (to the right things)

I have a hard time saying no.  You can probably relate.  College is one of those rare times in life when you have so many cool people and resources all around you.  There’s something exciting happening literally every day, night, and weekend.

With that, comes incredible opportunities.  Meeting new people, starting things, joining clubs, Greek life, hanging out, (hopefully interesting) school work, and on and on and on and on, as the song goes.  Saying yes to things has never been easier.

My yes button almost broke last semester.  I pushed it all day er’ day.  I hit a point somewhere around March where I just wanted to drop everything I was doing like it was hot. I was so overloaded with everything under the sun, that it became semi-miserable.  I came super close to quitting some of my major commitments, which would have only made my problem worse.

So I stuck it out, hunkered down, and finished the drill.  But I literally told a friend that I was going to “retire from doing things” the next semester.  That’s actually how I felt.  Like doing nothing.  Completely burnt out.

I’m all about saying yes to things.  My personality type likes to have a full schedule and lots going on.  Chris Carneal, one of my mentors once told me, “You’re in your 20s. Say “yes” to more than you should for this season of life.  Over time, you’ll begin to find where your passions and gifts lie and you can begin to focus in on those and start to say no to more things as time goes on.  But for now, say “yes.” Try new things.  Get out of your comfort zone. Meet people.  Go explore.”

I think that advice is spot on.  As 20somethings, we’ll never have less responsibility and more flexibility in our lives than we do right now.  So now is the time to try stuff, explore, and learn about how we’ve been gifted and wired.

But… how do we avoid feeling like “retiring from doing things.”

Growing up, the pastor at my church in Atlanta often said, “Burnout doesn’t come from doing too much of the right things, it comes from doing too much of the wrong things.”  Bingo.

Here’s what I realized when I had hit burnout.  I was prioritzing tasks over people.   Results were overriding relationships.

But the thing is…. People matter more.  So people should always win.  

Especially as seniors.  Let’s be remembered for the people we spent time with and impacted and less about the stuff we “accomplished.”  Don’t get me wrong.  I like doing stuff.  But people matter more.

When you only have one year left, the decision of whether to do lots of stuff or spend lots of meaningful time with people becomes a whole lot easier.