Tag: attitude

2 Steps to a Growth Plan

Do I need a Growth Plan

I was recently watching a video on YouTube by Terri Savelle Foy. You can watch it here. In the video she was talking about a personal growth plan. It got me to thinking about my life and wondering if I really have a growth plan.

I can say that I have parts of what could be a growth plan. I have dreams and goals written down that I would like to accomplish. I’m working on them, but I don’t know if I have a specific plan for my growth.

Why is it Important?

You may be in the same mode of thinking that I am. Well, I’m about to change my thinking and I believe that you should too. Why is a growth plan important? If you’re like me, your life by societal standards, may be pretty good.

Jeremiah 29:11(KJV)
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

This is the scripture that I think of when it comes to growing. There is a desire in me, that I don’t want to be the same person that I am now in 5 or 10 years. I think that is the first step to a growth plan.

1. A  Desire

Personal, spiritual, and mental growth doesn’t happen just by chance. There must be a desire in us that wants to be better. The scripture in Jeremiah tells me that God has a plan for me too. I would rather pursue God’s plan for my life than anything that I could plan for my life. So as we pursue God, we begin to see His plan and His track for our life.

The Enemy to Growth

The enemy of growth is comfort. People all around us settle in all different areas. We settle on our jobs, because we think there are too many politics involved. Settling in our marriages because we’re comfortable with the routine that has been established. We settle personally because we don’t see a need to be a better person, when by societal standards, we’re a decent human being.

None of these things matter or compare to what God has for us.

Isaiah 55:8-9(KJV)
8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.

God has a plan for us. A plan of peace and His goodness. There has to be a desire in us to see that plan come about in our lives.

2. Action

You have a Great Idea

How many times have we had a great idea. Something that we thought could change the world. Well it would at least change our world. The idea creates a desire in us. The more we think about it, the more we’re convinced that it would help others and ourselves. A week goes by, then maybe a month and now we’re struggling to remember that great idea we had.

I’ve been there so many times, with so many different ideas. The problem is that we don’t capitalize on those ideas and desires. We have to allow those ideas and desires to cause us to act.

Even little steps are steps towards your dreams. Take advantage of those moments of inspiration and use them to propel you toward something special.

This is how our lives will change. This is how we grow!

What areas do you want to grow in?

Are there ideas that you’ve let slip by?

I’d love to hear your story.

Thankfulness: A New Set of Eyes

Wheel of Life

How thankful are we for the opportunities that lay before us? There are times in our lives where it can seem like we are running a race that is never ending. We become the hamster on the wheel of life, running and running never going anywhere.

This shouldn’t be the way that we live our lives. We shouldn’t settle for this type of life. What we do and who we are should matter to us. However, the question then becomes, how do we break out of the hamster wheel?

Big Jet!

I’ve recently come back from a vacation with my family. For my son, Leonard Joshua (LJ), this was a first trip on an airplane for him. We had flown before when he was a baby, but this was the fir
st time where he was excited about seeing an airplane up close and riding on one. As we got to our gate
and he could look out of the window, you could see the excitement growing in him. He was so excited that he yelled “There’s an Airplane! Look mommy, daddy, Big Jet!” Side note, Big Jet is a character from Little Einstein’s, his favorite show.

It was in this moment that I was thankful for this experience. I treasured being able to be a part of a moment in his life that was so special. At that moment, it didn’t matter what we paid for the airline tickets, the other people around, or the sleep I didn’t get trying to make sure we made it on time. The only thing that mattered was to be in the moment.

Thankfulness creates Opportunities 

Our thankfulness helps to create our opportunities. It is when we have a thankful attitude and heart that our eyes can be opened to see the opportunities in front of us. Otherwise we may miss something truly special. We may miss the very thing that we’ve been praying about for so long.

In the world around us there is a distinct lack of thankfulness. It’s an anomaly to hold the door open for people to go in a restaurant or store ahead of you. It’s not common to go to an interview and tell the interviewer “thank you for the opportunity” after the interview. While these may be little things, it’s how we act in little things that determines how we see, act, and receive the bigger things in life.

Self Centered or Selfless

So much of everything around us makes it easier for us to be self-centered rather than thankful. Thankfulness is an attitude, choosing to be selfless rather than selfish. Instead of thinking that we deserve something, we should be thankful that we have an opportunity.

Today and every day we have a choice. Let’s choose to be thankful. It will change the world around us and we’ll see more opportunities to do what God has called us to do.

It’s All About Attitude

My Face Tells on Me

Most people that know me, know that many times what I’m feeling is shown on my face. I try to keep a poker face, but there are times when I’m not doing as good of a job as I think I am. My face will tell how I’m really feeling. My face is a reflection of my attitude. I bet many of you can say the same thing.

What does our attitude say about us? More importantly, what is our attitude saying about God? We can read the Bible, pray and do all the things that we’re “supposed to” do. You know the things that make us a “Good Christian.”

My Attitude & God

With an attitude that is indifferent, lazy, bitter or any of the other negative emotions that we have, our relationship with God can suffer. We should have and want to have an attitude that takes joy in hearing from God. We should want to anticipate the next time that God speaks to us.

What a good attitude can do for you

If our attitude is bitter or indifferent towards God, then we will not take seriously what He says if  we hear Him at all. We can control our attitudes. We can decide how we want to feel about something. Instead of going with the first emotion, we can take a moment and decide how we want to feel about a situation according to the Word of God.

There are days and times when God talks to us that we may not want to do what He is telling us, but we should. We should want to do what He says. So we take a moment and fix our attitude so that we can do what God commands us with a joyful heart.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

Sometimes it seems like we can forget this scripture. Or that we just don’t realize that God wants better for us than what we want for ourselves. This realization is why we have to control our attitude.

Don’t Act Like Children

We don’t want to be like our children when we tell them to do something. They do it just because we said so, and they go away mumbling and complaining. I don’t want to treat God that way where I’m only doing what He says because I know I should. I want to take pleasure and joy in the things that come from God.

It all can start and end with our attitdue. Whether we enjoy something or dislike it has more to do with our attitude than we sometimes care to admit. Let’s approach today and everyday with an attitude that is going to get the most out of the day. Let’s also approach God with an attitude that wants to please Him, an attitude that takes joy in hearing from Him.

Let’s adjust our attitudes today. We have control over them.