Do you have more than one priority, want, need or responsibility? If you answered no, you have a different problem and this post won’t make a difference….make an appointment with the right professional asap!

Often times just managing one item in each of the categories listed above is hard to do. But the reality is that most of us have a LOT of items in each category at any given time. Multi-tasking is proving to be a myth, with time-slicing and attention shifting being the reality of how we handle or juggle things. No, you can’t do it all perfectly all the time. Sometimes things get dropped

Our lives often seem to be akin to walking on a balance beam while juggling A LOT of balls. Some balls are rubber…these are the things that don’t have a lasting impact or us or others within our sphere of influence. Some balls are glass…these are the things that do have a lasting impact or us or others within our sphere of influence. When the rubber balls get dropped, it may be inconvenient but they bounce and can be picked up and put back in orbit. However, when a glass ball drops it is going to be damaged, if not destroyed. Even if you are able that ball back into orbit, the sharp edges are going to make keeping it there a painful process for you to one degree or another.

Let’s face it: sometimes one or more balls are going to drop. So which one will it be, rubber or glass? It’s obvious that most people don’t want their glass balls to drop and get damaged, but the reality is that they often do. To keep that from happening, you have to be able to be able to identify which balls are which; not always so easy and it’s  different for everyone.

Although there is no magic formula, Andy Stanley has done a good job of describing one way to know which balls are which and how to be intentional about the ones you are going to let drop (available both as a book and podcast) While he uses a different metaphor (calls it “Cheating” vs “ball dropping”), the concept is the same.

Regardless of what you call it, make sure you are being intentional about what you let drop and what you keep in orbit; the outcome will be more of what you want and the collateral damage much less.