How I choose my battles

   

     

        We’ve all heard the phrase “Choose your battles wisely”.

To choose one’s battles wisely: To actively choose not to participate in minor, unimportant or overly difficult arguments, contests or confrontations, saving one’s strength for those that will be of greater importance or in which one has a greater chance of success-idioms.freedictionary.com
     
       Often times in life, we’re faced with situations where it feels like a number of things are “attacking” us at once or at times it might just be one thing rearing its ugly head at us. If you’re not careful, you might be tempted to go after all of them. This will most likely end up making you feel drained and discontent because of a truth, not every battle in life is worth fighting. Not everything is worth devoting your energy to. So how then do we figure out the battles worth fighting and the ones we should let go?

      Some years ago, I read a book by Ben Carson titled “The big picture-Getting perspective of what’s really important in life”, there was a particular point he made that has stuck with me ever since then. He was referring to what to do when we are at situations where we have various options and don’t know which choice to make or when we have one option and are plagued with figuring out if it’s worth it or not. I personally apply it to choosing which battles are worth fighting and I’ll summarize it below. Let’s say someone said something unpleasant you didn’t like and you’re wondering whether to confront/argue with them or not. Ask yourself these questions:

•  What’s the best thing that can happen if I argue with this person
• What’s the worst thing that can happen if I argue with this person
• What’s the best thing that can happen if I DON’T argue with this person
• What’s the worst thing that can happen if I DON’T argue with this person

       You can apply this to basically every important choice you are making in life.  If for example, you’re plagued with only one problem, let’s say deciding whether to invest in a business or not, this analysis will help you determine if it’s worth it. Also, if you’re faced with more than one option e.g. choosing out of many businesses, it’ll help you streamline your options, compare them and figure out the best option.
     
       When it comes to fighting battles, I personally like to face things squarely and devote all my energy to them. As I’ve grown older, I’ve come to discover that some things aren’t worth your energy at all. They are “Energy drainers” in the sense that if you decide to fight them, you’ll fight and fight till you’re weak and drained and yet you won’t have any positive outcome. You only end up worn out and frustrated. Doing a little risk-benefit analysis like the one stated above will go a long way to help you avoid energy drainers. Before you decide to channel your energy into something, pause and analyze the risk. Understand that if you waste energy on irrelevant things, you will not have enough energy to fight the relevant ones when they come. You’ll only end up feeling burnt out, frustrated, tired and too weak to tackle important things or end up producing mediocre results all round because you chose to go after everything.
 
        This aspect of Ben Carson’s book has helped me a lot in life so I decided to share it here. Try your best to avoid energy drainers in life. Shalom!