Here’s the Solution to Your Biggest Challenge

Recently my soon-to-be-10 year old son was doing his weekly job of vacuuming the family room floor when he proclaimed with frustration, “This is going to take forever!”

I noticed he was using our little stick vacuum, so I responded, “I think if you were to use the big vacuum you could finish faster.”

He replied, “I know.”

And continued to use the stick vacuum.

“I know” seems to be one of my kids’ favorite phrases, so I’ve developed a favorite response of my own:

If you know… then do.

Leadership guru John Maxwell wrote:

The greatest gap is the gap between knowing and doing.

(Feel free to retweet that)

I think he’s right.

We find ourselves in a lot of difficult situations in life. Most of the time we know what we need to do.

• Feeling tired, overweight and out of shape? Eat healthier, exercise regularly and see your doctor for an annual physical.
• Feeling distant from your spouse, kids, a friend? Love them unconditionally, be intentional about spending time with them, and listen attentively, even if they don’t treat you the same way.
• Is an addition to alcohol, pornography, games, gambling, food or something else keeping you from life you really want? Find a step program or an accountability group.
• Feeling distant from God? Read the bible and pray every day. Get involved with a church or bible study. Serve others.

This is not rocket science, is it? You’ve heard all these solutions before, right?

Most of the time we know what we need to do, but the solution is difficult, uncomfortable and requires sacrifice. We may say we’re too busy, need to research options or are “praying about it,” but the truth is we’re often just procrastinating in the hopes that an easier solution will come along.

If you know… then do.

What do you know you need to do?