Understand your pain. Growth is HARD. You’ve been carrying around this voice that keeps telling you what you could be doing to reach your full potential. It says you are so much more than what your lifestyle says you are. There’s this deep groaning in your gut that is saying go HARDER.
We don’t listen to this voice often because it’s calling us to step out into somewhere new. Humans don’t like “new places” because there could be predators lurking about to destroy us. These predators come in all shapes and sizes. They could look like a group of fit young students laughing at you because you’re overweight and trying to get in shape. You decide not to go to the gym anymore, meanwhile you paid one visit with your new membership. It’s the physical pain of dealing with sore muscles after getting into a workout routine. Perhaps it’s the $100,000 student debt that you’re going to get as you pursue your dream of becoming a teacher. It’s important to recognize these monsters that are standing in front of you and understand that you don’t have to be afraid any longer. Take courage and begin your journey.
Step 1: Vision
Who is this person that you long to be?
Why do you want to live this way?
Does he/she walk with confidence?
Do they smile everyday knowing they have meaning in this world?
Do they know they are loved?
Are there things in your life you don’t want anymore?
Are there things that you don’t have in your life that you know you want?
What does he/she look like today? Tomorrow? Next year? Five years from now? Ten years from now?
Cast the vision of you in your fullest potential. Be specific. Set small goals to achieve every day, week, month, and year that is going to get you there. They could be as simple as reading a chapter a day, or read 12 books this year, or go to the gym 3 times this week.
Step 2: Focus
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he” – Proverbs 23:7
Your most powerful weapons in producing positive growth are your heart and your mind. It’s your responsibility as a conscious human being to monitor your thoughts and self-talk and to protect and feed good dialogue within. What does your inner dialogue sound like? Are your thoughts always of shame? Doubt? Guilt? Do you hear negative put downs all day? Are you always telling yourself you are not good enough? If this is what your self-talk sounds like, it’s time to set an anchor of who you truly are in your heart and mind. This is the spiritual side of war.
Set an anchor: believe whole-heartedly that you are deeply loved from above and created with a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline. Out of this place of belief, you will begin to live as so.
Step 3: Perseverance
When the going gets tough, KEEP ON GOING. Nothing of value will ever come easy. It’s your perspective within the little moments, tasks, and jobs, that will decide how much joy you experience, even in the toughest of days. Remember who you are, and why you live the way you do to get through the growing pains. Be thankful for those reasons, be thankful that you have the courage to be where you are because this is who you are. You are a well-reasoned, capable, and endearing human being who has the ability to change the world if you believe you can. This is truly who you are.
It’s time to set some goals, get spiritually healthy, and show up for the dirty work every day with a heart of faith and gratitude. You owe it to yourself and to the world; it’s who you were created to be. You are not the only one that experiences fear. You are not the only one that longs to overcome your shortcomings and live in your full potential. Take the first step forward and if you fall, laugh off the dust and try again. Give yourself grace, but not too much grace. You are an overcomer and were created to overcome the laziness, overeating, and whatever other bad habits are holding you back from living in your full potential. It’s time to silence them once and for all. Believe.
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