Patience

Wait for it, wait for it, wait for it...

Change your shoes, change your mind!

How many times have you put on a certain shoe and something just wasn’t quite right?   You had envisioned how your outfit would look and imagined all the heads that would turn when you would walk into the room.  In fact, you had already gone over in your mind exactly which shoe you would wear to top off the outfit.  You glance at yourself in the full-length mirror, expecting to be mesmerized and then you come to the quick realization that you look “a hot mess”.

The shoe does not go with the outfit.  The outfit needs a pointed toe shoe and you are wearing platforms that are far too “clunky”.  So what do you do?  Do you get undressed and decide not to go out?  Do you change the entire outfit to fit the shoe? Or do you go back to the closet and search for another shoe that looks better. 

No problem, right?  In fact, after a quick search, you realize that you actually have several shoes that could accompany the outfit.

If it’s so easy to change your shoes to make an outfit look better, why do we struggle to change our thought processes, which can make our situation look better? Could it be fear? Rebellion? Habit? Stubbornness? The need to be right?

Cogito ergo sum, a Latin phrase, which means, “ I think, therefore I am”.  You are what you say and you are what you believe.  There is power in your thought patterns, which is why it’s so important to think and speak positively.  The Bible says in Romans 12:2, “ Be not conformed to the things of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind”.  To renew something is to restore to freshness or to rejuvenate.  This means that each day, you must begin the day thinking positive thoughts.  If you wake up pondering negative thoughts, your day will be negative.  You will wake up sluggish, uninspired and everyone that crosses your path will feel your negative vibe.  However if it’s raining outside, but you wake up saying,  “this is the day that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it”, your day will be one that is filled with joy.

The day is not filled with joy by happenstance, but rather you have willed it into existence.  It all starts in the mind!  Your health, your wealth, your family, your job… EVERYTHING is governed by the way you perceive it and that happens in the mind first.

So let’s decide to not be moved and easily bothered by the various situations of life.  The outlook of the situation can be altered, just like your outfit took on a different look with a different pair of shoes.  Allow yourself to let go of those negative thoughts that only intend to slow you down and make you lose focus.  If you are constantly around negative people, who exude negativity…quickly walk away.  And if you’re the one with the negativity problem, go back to the drawing board and re-train your brain.  Assess the outfit, decide which shoe will complement your life better, change your shoes, and then change your mind.  Now walk it out!

Sacrifice

Oftimes we look at the word sacrifice and simply cringe.  To some, sacrifice is interpreted as, want I want is less important than what you want.  Others see it as compromising who you are because you are putting your wishes and desires on hold for someone or something else.  Both of those interpretations of sacrifice have a very negative connotation and I would cringe too, if that were how I viewed it.

I would like to posit, however, that sacrifice can be a liberating, positive experience and principle for your life.  There is a definition of sacrifice that I’d like to share with you. Sacrifice is to forfeit (one thing) for another thing considered to be of greater value. 

Let’s give some examples.

•  I forfeit gorging on certain foods, because having good cholesterol and blood pressure readings is of more value to me, in the long run; than tasting that delicious chocolate cake (cookies, pies, etc…), in the short term.
•  I sacrifice sleep, by waking up an hour early to work out, because exercising and good health is more important than lying under the comforter for an extra hour.
•  I sacrifice my time to plan a family meal in the crock pot, because I realize that if I don’t we are going to eat fast food everyday, which is not good for any of us.
•  I sacrifice the furthering of my career, at the moment, because my children need a little more support academically and at home.
•  I sacrifice running to the mall to get the latest fashions and/or shoes, because I can save that money for a rainy day fund or savings. (I can still be a DIVA and look good without the latest or most expensive things.  I might have to give Ross stores a look and leave Neiman Marcus for another season.)
•  I sacrifice the idea that I have to argue with my spouse, because I realize that peace in the home has more value than proving a point.

So sacrifice is not a negative thing, but if done for the right reasons, it can be a rewarding experience.  Only you can determine how and what you are willing to sacrifice.  Don’t make it a negative experience by looking at it through a vacuum.  Learn to take a step back and look at the whole picture.  I’m sure the big picture and “payoff” looks much brighter and is more sustainable than any type of instant gratification.

It took me nearly a year of exercising and changing my eating habits to go from a size 18W to a regular size 16.  In fact, it is so gratifying that I have enrolled in boot camp to help tone my body, as I continue to lose weight.  Sacrifice! 

Peace in the home, well-rounded children and a healthy lifestyle are all of greater value to me than the alternatives.  Sacrifice is a process that might take weeks, months or years before you recognize the “payoff”; but I guarantee you that the “payoff” will come. 

I encourage you to get it in your mind, body and spirit that sacrifice is a positive principle to live by.  Once you recognize it in your soul, allow your feet to hit the pavement and “walk it out”.