I have a confession. I have been addicted for years and I don’t know how to break this addiction, but I wonder, is it something that I need to stop doing or is it just who I am?
What is this addiction that I have? Well, I am addicted to taking on too much. I can’t say no! When people want me to make something, I do it. It is never a problem when they ask but it always seems like they all end up on the same day, week or month. So I end up having to do too many things on one day and it stresses me out a little …or a lot.
Let me give you a great example:
So I decided that I was going to take on the fun task of trying to make a new thing for dinner (ribs) and I had to figure out how to make ribs being that I’d never done them before. I discovered that to make them fall off the bone I needed to cook them for a long period of time. I was determined to not only make them but have them taste phenomenal.
A friend was getting home from an LDS mission and I wanted to make something for an open house that they were having. They asked if I would bring cinnamon rolls. OF COURSE!!! Now I am not saying that I didn’t want to make these because I did. They are easy, just time consuming. I couldn’t make simple cinnamon rolls, I have to make them from scratch. Plus, since I was making dinner why not make dinner rolls to go with the ribs? Genius.
Of course I forgot that I have to prepare a lesson for my Sunday school class (who really doesn’t listen, but if I prepare something at least I get something out of it). Another bonus on the cinnamon rolls was that it was a great treat to take to my class.
So in order to get everything done, I began working on them at 5am. Then woke my wife to assist at 6:30. Together we worked until 9am when we delivered the cinnamon rolls and rolled ourselves into church. Yes we did it but it wore us out and that was just half of the days work. Finishing the ribs were our after church endeavor.
Am I complaining about the fact that I do too much, when I could easily say no or schedule my time better? Not at all! Really I love it! I love doing anything for anyone. I love to help others and really will do anything for them, even if that means that I have to pile so much on my plate that it overflows. In the end it is completely worth it to me because I have found that no matter how crazy my life is, it is always better when I help others.
I may stress out at the time or usually the day before, but I know that I can get it all done. I really can do it all for others and it has become a fun thing for our family to do together.
The other hard part is that you can’t be in two places at once. Isn’t it weird that you can have two weeks worth of nothing at all and then all of the sudden you are back in high school and everyone wants to hang out with you? This happens to us all the time! We will have two things that we need/want to be at; whether it’s family events or dinner/hangout with friends. That is the hardest thing for me because I want to be able to attend everything and not offend anyone. Remember I was that popular kid in high school, I swear I’ll never grow up! I just love being around people and will never say no to a good time.
So give it a try, say yes next time when you really want to say no. Let your family share the fun of meeting new people and feeling the thrill of serving others. It is amazing to see that there’s always time for everything when we take time for everyone.
