What you do doesn’t have the authority to make you who you are. But it does have the power to give you its opinion about who you are.
It’s easier to believe you’re an active person when you’re outside hiking than it is when you’re in your arm chair flipping channels. And the more you repeat a behavior, the more likely you’re going to believe what the behavior is saying about you.
This is one reason breaking a habit or changing your lifestyle can be so difficult.
Where have you been wrestling? In what area of your life have you been wanting to see change? Fitness? Integrity? Love of the poor? Sexual purity? Devotion to Christ?
Maybe you won’t be able to change a lifestyle or longstanding habit all at once. But you can help facilitate change by doing things that affirm the truth about who you are.
Here are some ideas of what you can do to facilitate change, even when the big change you’re after has not yet fully come:
Get Out on the Trail. Physically go places that affirm the new man or woman you are.
Practice. Accept that this is new and you’re not going to do it perfectly. Every step, even if you falter, is practice that will move you forward over time.
Do difficult things. Show inner-resistance you mean business. You’re the kind of person who is willing to do hard things.
When you fall, get back up. Getting back up is more important than never falling at all. (Watch the video below for a great demonstration of this!)
Enlist others. Find friends who believe the truth about who you are and can help remind you when you forget.
Cultivate Intimacy with Jesus. He knows who you are and his voice has both authority and power to call you out into life.
Do something today. Without waiting for your feelings first, pick one thing you can do today that aligns with the new man or woman you are, and do it. This is about asserting for yourself, “I’m this kind of person.”
I’d love to hear your thoughts! What’s one thing you can do today to affirm the truth about who you are? Leave a comment below.
Lacing up,
Josh
Josh Glaser
Executive Director
josh@RegenerationMinistries.org
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsOBaV_93yQ[/youtube]
Thanks for your article, Josh. I believe that words are very important, and what we say about ourselves being a self-fulfilling prophesy. This applies to others as well. I try to be very careful and positive about the things I speak about myself and others. I believe what we say is heard and noted in the spiritual realms. It’s important to bless not to curse. For instance, if we say, “I will be able to lose 10lbs in the next few months”, or, “I will get a job”, or “I can do this because God is helping me”, “He is a good boy”, etc., I believe we are blessing others and ourselves. It actually takes more effort to be mean or rude and critical than it does to speak positively. For me, this is a key ingredient for motivation.
Amazing! Now that is determination. Thanks, Josh.
Thanks so much for the concise reminder of how we should approach thinking about our broken self-images. You succinctly captured the essence of Alan Medinger’s book “Growth Into Manhood”, a handbook I’ve read several times on how God works in our lives as we partner with Him in doing the difficult things that bring about true growth. Growth is a process, and we need to keep on “keeping on”. Thanks again for the encouragement.
Thanks, J! Any comparison to Alan Medinger’s book is a high compliment. I appreciate it.