Mindset Pt. 1

February 21, 2014, I wrote a blog entitled “Make Up Your Mind”.  I may refer to some of the points that I initially shared but my ultimate desire is to revisit this subject more in depth.

Everything we do, or don’t do, for that matter is a result of our thoughts, including the lack of thought.  What does that mean?  Sometimes we act without thinking which often results in regrets.  The goal with this series is for us (me included) to be more purposeful about our actions, however, this requires thought, planning and implementation. 

Winston Churchill: “He who fails to plan is planning to fail”

Dwight D. Eisenhower: “Plans are nothing; planning is everything”. 

TNT (dynamite) Thought:  please don’t be intimidated by the words: plan, planning or fail.  We’re going to take this journey together and I believe before it’s ends we will be more confident in understanding how to create a life plan and you will also see that failing is connected to succeeding.  Trust me ☺

As we dig deeper I am reminded of something the late Maya Angelou said: “You are the sum total of everything you've ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot - it's all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.”  You may not want to accept this, but think about it for a moment.  PAUSE and reflect for about 30 seconds.  I am serious. 

Consider this, the majority of us eat foods we were raised on and as we matured we continued, discontinued or added to that diet; we learned about hygiene, cleaning our living space, sharing, how to treat others, etc. based upon the standards and examples that our caretaker(s) set for us.  I am talking about learning experiences that began at infancy: e.g. recognizing people, first words, first steps, discovering body parts (eyes, ears, nose, etc.) bobbing to the music, learning to pray, clapping your hands, snap your fingers, etc.  Our caretakers did not give us a book as infants and tell us to figure it out, they taught us through their actions and we modeled them, good or bad.  As we matured it was normal to continue what we learned but in many cases we tweaked the behavior to fit our character.  Thus we were influenced by sensory preceptors and what we were told as Miss Maya said so eloquently stated.  For example: "you is kin', you is smart, you is impo'tent" (a line from The Help), etc. or you're ugly, bad, no good, to fat, black, light, short, tall, etc. (a lie from the enemy).  I believe her quote was derived from the Original Author:  For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.  Proverbs 23:7a (NKJV). 

Sensory perceptive learning doesn't end at puberty it continued right into our teens.  Many (if not all) of the life experiences we had shaped our thinking, some good, some not so good, some absolutely horrible, and I don’t say that from a place of judgment, I say it from a place of empathy (Webster:  the intellectual identification with or vicarious experiencing of the feelings, thoughts, or attitudes of another).  Those are the things that Miss Maya referred to that we forgot or wish we could.  Like it or not those experiences also shaped us.

 

TNT (dynamite) Thought:  If as you read this blog a thought 

comes up that is fearful, sad or causes anxiety I want you to stop.  Settle yourself by breathing. I am serious, come on, take a deep breath, hold it for about 10 seconds and release.  As you release the breathe allow your body to release.  Do it a couple more times and allow yourself to become calm.  It’s OK.  

God has not given us a spirit of fear, but power and of love and a sound mind.  You can control your thoughts.  You are not a child anymore, you are an adult.  Command your mind, stop allowing it to command you.  It’s OK.  

Now let's hook the preceding information up.  If we are the sum total of our thoughts and we don't like the results we currently have and/or we don't like ourselves how do we change (it)?  That is a million dollar question, here's the answer.  You ready?  Are you sure because it's a bomb shell and I don't know if you can handle the truth.  OK, you asked for it, here's part of the answer:  You Don't.  If you had the power to change yourself you would have done it years ago [and you probably wouldn't be on this call].  Your world would be perfect, you wouldn't need God, his Son, Jesus or the Holy Spirit, but that is not the case because that's not how God created this thing called life.  Unless you love pain and being cruel to yourself and/or others because you have sadistic tendencies (Webster: any enjoyment of pain, extreme cruelty).

So does that mean we're stuck, there is no way out, we'll be forever trapped in a state of dissatisfaction, running on the hamster's wheel until we die.  Absolutely not.  The rest of the answer is found in the word of God:  This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)

This is why a personal relationship with God is crucial.  He didn't just send his Son, Jesus to die so we   Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. 3 John 2 (NKJV).  And on top of that God sent the Holy Spirit as our guarantee to living a prosperous life.  The problem is that we don't allow him to help us and because he is such a gentlemen, he will not force or impose his will over ours.   Believe it or not there are promises and rewards that God has for us but he is waiting for us to yield, get out of the way because he will not release those promises until we are properly positioned.  Getting in position requires a new way of thinking.  We literally have to change our minds.
could get our reward in Heaven, that's only part of it.  Jesus also died so that we could live an abundant prosperous life, here while we are on earth.

I'm out of time for today, so we'll have to pick it up tomorrow

In His Excellent Service

Tania not Tanya