I’ve shared the following with you a couple of times, but it never grows old…
I’m sure you’ve heard the story about the old Cherokee speaking to his grandson about good and evil. He told the boy that everybody has two wolves fighting inside of them. One wolf is good, loving, humble, benevolent, and honest. The other is greedy, envious, selfish, and arrogant. The little boy intently looked at the old man and asked, “Which wolf wins?” The grandfather replied, “The one you feed – that one will surely win.”
This is the start of another year, and with it comes all kinds of resolutions, promises, commitments, and the like. But, unfortunately, very few are kept, and the likely reason is not so much we don’t want to keep them, but we fail to starve old beliefs and behaviors, and we quickly grow tired of “feeding” the new.
It reminds me of the alcoholic who decides to quit, so he puts down the bottle, determined to conquer this horrible obsession, but he continues to hang around the same spaces, places, and faces.
Effective change requires wholesale disruption and transformation of our life.
Positive change is not an event; it is a process.
What is it you want to change in your life?
For real change to happen, you must start feeding the new change daily while starving the beliefs and actions that no longer serve to feed the new commitment.
If you are serious about making positive change, here are some steps that will help you:
Pray for it – Pray first thing in the morning for God’s help starving the old and feeding the new.
Picture it – What are you trying to change? How will your life look after the change has taken place?
Plan it – Write the change down on paper and create action steps.
Practice it –Commit to doing whatever you are doing differently in a very focused manner for at least six weeks. Perhaps you refer to these six weeks as “Positive Change Boot Camp.” Tell yourself your life depends on this change. For some resolutions, like dealing with addictions, your life does depend on it…I write from experience.
People it – Surround yourself with people who have learned how to feed the new habit you are trying to create and have starved the old habit. God works best through His people.
Pray for it…again, again, and again.
Some sayings to spur you on as you become tempted to opt out of your New Year’s commitment:
Excuses are like our hind ends, we all have them, and they all stink. As soon as you start making excuses think of this saying I first heard (uncensored) from my college basketball coach back in 1979.
If I’m not the problem, then there is no solution. Blaming other people, places, and things for your inability to feed the new and starve the old is an excuse, as described above.
KISS…Keep It Simple, Stupid, or Keep It Super Simple. Take baby steps. Set easy-to-achieve short-term goals in the beginning. Feel what it’s like to win, and then begin stretching yourself a little bit more as the year goes on.
BEST WISHES TO YOU ON THIS JOURNEY AND…
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed; behold, the new has come.”
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
