Want to lose weight? Get a better job? Go back to college? Find a spouse? Get closer to God? Whatever it is, understand that real change is one of the most difficult things you can ever do. Even the threat of death doesn’t make some people change. A recent study indicated that within only two years, 90% of open heart surgery patients go back to their old eating habits – the same lifestyle that got them there in the first place. For real change to happen in our lives, we need more than wishes and resolutions. We need to understand how to embrace the kinds of techniques that allow real transformation to happen.
Here are some thoughts that could help you make some transformations in your life:
Overcome fear and insecurity Insecurity and fear keep us from achieving greatness and in most of the time it has very little basis in fact. Every day, take a step into an area that you’ve been afraid of and know that God is there beside you. Roosevelt was right when he said, “there is nothing to fear but fear itself”. Embrace the fear and push through it.
Stop looking at past failures. Every coach knows the saying, “It’s not how many times you fall that matters, it’s how many times you get back up.” Past failure is a good teacher, but ultimately, it doesn’t matter because you have no control over your past. Stop looking back. Start focusing on the future.
Reward yourself along the way. Before you start the journey toward change, know specifically what you want to accomplish, and reward yourself along the way. Goals are great, but we live in a culture of “instant” today. If reaching the goal seems too daunting then we often give up. Create “mini-goals” to encourage yourself along the way and celebrate them.
Prioritize and eliminate the distractions. Don’t allow insignificant distractions to keep you from moving forward. This is a huge pitfall in our culture today. We spend enormous amounts of time on things that really don’t matter, as our lives spin out of control. Social media and reality TV are high on the list. You’ll never reach your goals unless you understand the power of priorities. Spend less time on what seems “urgent” at the moment and more time on what really matters for the future.
Find Personal Cheerleaders. Surround yourself with friends who believe in you, and eliminate negative people from your life. Spend less time with people who drain your energy and resources, and more time with people who love and support your dreams and goals. Prayer supporters are your allies so find those people who really know you, your work, and vision and are willing to stand beside you to and give you encouragement and sometimes the cold hard facts.
Understand that life is mysterious and unpredictable. Life isn’t simple or predictable. It’s a complex process, but at the same time, it’s a wonderful process of discovery. We often waste time and money on simplistic self-help answers – quick fixes. Life isn’t about finding all the right answers, it’s about asking the right questions. Embrace the mystery and insecurity and know that it’s at that place that our life begins because we have to rely on God who does know all the answers.
Making changes in our life is a constantly evolving process and the more we can embrace the hardships and journey the more we can live richer fuller lives.
