Tuesday I was pretty hard on me/us about our BUTS. The obstacles, the excuses, the things that get in the way of us meeting our goals are frustrating to say the least.

But we do need to acknowledge those times when are BUTS are unavoidable. A few examples…

• You have a well oiled plan for the day filled with errand running but your kiddo wakes up sick.
• You have every intention of rising early to work out, your clothes are even laid out but one of your children wakes you up multiple times in the night and you have maybe had 4 hours of sleep.
• You are set on having a day filled with joy and gratitude but PMS kicks in and there is no getting out of the funk you are in.

These are BUTS that you simply can’t avoid. They are out of your control! What I would name external BUTS.

So what do we do then?

You draw on your non-negotiables.

What is a non-negotiables you say?

They are those 3-5 things that you HAVE to get done.

• Feed my children
• Feed myself
• Read my Bible
• Brush teeth
• Check email

You know…those kinds of things. The idea is that if your BUT is out of your control  then you know the bare minimum that has to get done to still make your day a success.

My friend Ginger who has a new little has a great post about this: Growing Forward in 2014

This is also why I use this post-it note style priorities list for my week.

It helps me set realistic expectations for the week. Each week I set five things that I will accomplish outside of my normal daily to-do’s. ONLY five. And honestly, I am luck if I get two of them done in a week.

All this to say that if you find your BUT out of your control then make sure you offer yourself grace, go to bed early, take a bubble bath, lay around and watch Little Mermaid, and count it a WIN if everyone eats.

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” Galatians 6:9