Our Mindset

I haven't written in a while—life's distractions, the discipline needed, and all the reasons why can easily take over my mind. That's just how life goes sometimes. We want to do things but can't find the time, or we mean to but just forget. There are endless ways to procrastinate. This can relate to anything, like working out, reading the Bible, dieting, calling an old friend, or even just mustering the energy to get out of bed. The truth is that our mindset is focused on the task instead of the reason why.

When we are task driven, we feel accomplished when we do things that better our well-being. We think that by completion we will feel more validated due to our actions. We are fooling ourselves in believing that we can change our mindsets, we can create hope for ourselves, we can do it, we have the power. We think by shifting your attitudes to embrace a more positive, flexible, and growth-focused thought pattern it will make a difference on our view of things around us. By realizing that our skills and smarts can grow with dedication and effort. This change can make us more optimistic, boost our resilience when facing challenges, and make us more open to learning and adapting, but although giving ourselves grace in growth we often forget who does the work, who is in control, who created us in the first place.

Sometimes the task seems to pile up. This can become overwhelming and lead to being less motivating than we were feeling in the first place. The thought of it is too much, the idea is stressful, so we try to avoid it at all costs, to save ourselves from the failure at the end. Can't lose if you never play. This could be a result in fear, the unknown and negative thoughts which is also when we remove all hope from the situation before we even began. Often times this can lead to depression, body fatigue and the negative thoughts can overcome us entirely. The loss of hope.

Whether it's to improve ourselves or to stop putting things off, the main reason we want to change is the same: we’re looking for a fresh start, more control, or a new perspective on life. The Bible mentions in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come," and in Philippians 2:13, "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." These verses highlight that through faith in Christ and God's guidance, people can undergo a deep transformation, becoming new and aligning their desires with God’s will. God is the one who changes us, does the work and gives us a new perspective on life.

How does this apply to our daily life? How will this help us to diet, workout, read our bible or have a reason to get out of bed in the morning? When we first realize that it is not what we do that matters, but who we are glorifying with our actions, we can know that all of our effort accounts weather we see results or not. Then once our faith is complete in God's ability and we have complete trust in knowing that through the good and bad situations He wants what is best for us at all times. Then we can stop compartmentalizing God and give Him the desires of our hearts every day. The point is to surrender it to God, easier said than done, but when we wake up every day and give that day to God, we are making a choice to seek God first in our lives. The choice to allow God's will to shape us into what He wants us to become, not our own agenda of happiness.

As we begin to surrender, challenges may intensify. Our most powerful tool is prayer. Rise and pray. Pray consistently throughout the day. James 5:16 affirms, "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective," highlighting God's readiness to hear and answer prayers aligned with His will. Philippians 4:6-7 encourages believers to bring their requests to God through prayer, assuring them of His peace in return. By prioritizing our relationship with God over daily goals, He will transform our mindset to align with His will. This process requires time, but rest assured, God is continually working to strengthen His character within you.