It is said the early bird gets the worm. And certainly there’s great value in getting a jumpstart on our day and tackling whatever needs to be done. But this wisdom also speaks to the value of priorities and intention more so than just the time we start our day.
Early birds don’t waste the time given to them. They focus on what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, and without distraction. And even when their plans are disrupted by circumstances outside of their control, they resume their priorities the first chance they get.
And there’s much wisdom here for us as well.
For some, this does mean getting up early to accomplish tasks before the day gets away from them. But this spirit of the early bird can be lived out at any point in the day, as it’s more about setting our priorities and living intentionally.
For instance, we prioritize calling a friend, telling our wife we love her, helping out a neighbor, or whatever good our faith prompts us to do whenever it comes to mind. We often leave much good undone because we put it off until later.
Of course, life happens and we cannot always do everything that needs to be done at that very moment. But even here we can be intentional and plan when we will get certain things done.
And in this way we’re still like the early bird who’s committed to keeping the first thing the first thing even when many other responsibilities compete for our attention.
We miss our worms as it were – the good that is ours to do when we don’t prioritize and remain intentional.
Don’t waste your day by putting off the good that is yours to do. Be like the early bird and make it a priority. This allows you to be intentional in your practice of love and not let good remain undone.
Photo by Boris Smokrovic on Unsplash