Has anyone else had one of those days that it just doesn’t matter what is going on, you just don’t want to do it? You know, the bad case of the “I don’t wanna’s.” That has been my case the last few days. Instead of finding a way to be excited about what I’m doing, all I can think about is laying in bed.

Unfortunately, this has become a cycle that I go through every now and then. There will be days that life is going great, and the next thing I know… I don’t wanna.

Today, I want to discuss a little bit about why this is a bad mindset to be in, and what some tactics are that can help out!

Living in this mindset can cause all sorts of trouble for us. It can cause us to fall behind on work or school, which may lead to things like losing a job or getting dropped from a class. It also makes us much more busier than we were in the first place. Continually putting things off means that it all piles up, and then we have created even more stress for ourselves. Instead of some small hills to walk over each day, we have now created our own Mount Everest to somehow navigate.

Most of all, these “I don’t wanna’s” make us miss out on the good things in life, and the goodness that God has in store for us.

Here is a recent example from my life. Just a couple months ago, I was given my dream job as Creative Director at Purley Gates Retreat. A few days after I was hired, I began to realize all of the new duties and tasks I would have to complete. Instead of focusing on remaining thankful and finding some small baby steps to start with, I allowed myself to become overwhelmed, discouraged, and fall into the “I don’t wanna” attitude.

As if I didn’t feel behind enough, my senior year of college kicked off, and projects for each of my classes began popping up. Now, I had let two mountains build up, and I had to somehow scale both of them at the same time.

Once I finally did begin to tackle a few of those projects and tasks, it was all I got to focus on. I no longer had time to hang out with friends, I began neglecting my relationship with my fiance, and even worse, I no longer had time to give to God or watch for how He was working in my life.

Hopefully, you are beginning to see now, like I have, how poisonous these “I don’t wanna’s” can really be. Let’s take a look at another example found in the book of Jonah.

Our man Jonah had one of the most severe cases of the “I don’t wanna’s.” He was called by God to deliver a message to the town of Ninevah, and instead of seeking to be obedient and joyful that God was using him, Jonah decided to run.

Jonah got on a boat to try to sail away from his responsibility, but ended up causing more trouble for himself and the people that were around him. Then, he got swallowed up by a whale, and still ended up at the place he tried to run away from.

After finally giving in and preaching the message of God to the people in Ninevah, Jonah’s case of the “I don’t wanna’s” had affected him so badly that he still couldn’t find joy. He became even more angry and ungrateful for anything that God provided him. Jonah had completely missed out on the goodness of God, and the joys of this life, all because of one bad attitude.

We may laugh at the thought of falling into this mindset, or not really think it is that big of a deal. Hopefully you can see through these two examples that it is a much bigger issue than we often realize.

I want to encourage you today, if you find yourself battling with this attitude, to get back up and move forward. I know, once you start down the trail of “I don’t wanna” it is pretty difficult to stop walking. Find a reason to turn around and run the opposite direction.

Ask yourself, why is it that I started this? Why did you choose to go to school, or take this job, or whatever it is that you are in? Why did God put you in this place? Find that answer for yourself, and cling to it.

When I begin to feel myself slipping, I remember that God has placed me at this school and in this job in order to serve Him and spread His love to all people. It is encouraging to remember why I do something, and drives me through all those tasks that I just really don’t want to do.

So if you want to defeat your “I don’t wanna’s”, you’ve got to cling to your “why.”

Have an awesome day everyone! Keep fighting the good fight!