Over the last few months, I've been thinking through some of the most obvious & beneficial, yet often brutal & painful, life lessons I've learned so far in my 46.5 years of life. I'm going to share some of them in a series of posts. If you haven't read it yet, go HERE to read the first one. This is the second.
You are your own worst enemy.
Don’t believe me?
Who will make the decision to sleep in instead of go to the gym?
Who decides to eat that entire box of muffins?
Who keeps saying, “Next week.... I’ll start next week!”
Who chooses to be a virtual zombie rather than a personal and interactive human - to stare at a social media screen rather than talk to the human across the table?
Who forced you to watch Netflix for six straight hours?
Who allows themselves to believe, “I just can’t do this!”?
You.
Yes. That’s right. You.
The same you...
Who can determine to get up, get your butt out of bed, and go lift some weights, punch a bag, or walk around the block.
Who can throw all that crap out of your pantry and eat an apple. A banana. Anything but that garbage.
Who can determine TODAY is the day! Who cares if it’s a Wednesday? Or Saturday? Get on it...NOW!
You can decide to be there. Fully present.
You can do this!
You. ONLY you.
Set goals. We have to set goals. But, we can’t just set goals…
Make a plan. Keep revising the plan.
I’m going to lose 5 pounds this month. That’s a goal.
I’m going to lose 5 pounds this month by cutting out unnecessary sugar and bread, getting rest, and exercising four times a week. That’s a goal with a plan.
You can do this. ONLY YOU can do this.
Paul told Timothy that everyone who surrenders his life to Christ has not been given a “spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
We have to have self-control. We have to cultivate discipline. It takes time. But it also takes one tough choice after another. Don’t focus on the time it will take; focus on the decision you have to make today.
Paul told the Galatians that one of the fruits of the Spirit in our lives - one of the evidences that we have the Spirit of God refining us and bearing fruit in our lives - is self-control.
Self-control knows that a piece of dark chocolate is good for you. But an entire candy bar of dark chocolate is not.
Self-control and discipline knows that small choices and decisions over a long period of time pay off, bear fruit, and make a difference.
If you want the inspiration and motivation to conquer that beast, the best thing you can do is get up tomorrow, set the goal, make the plan, tell someone you love and trust to hold your feet to the fire and not let up, and get after it. And then do it again the next day.
Stop waiting.
Buy a Carpe Diem t-shirt, for cryin out loud.
Make Eye of the Tiger your alarm song, ringtone, and play it 10 times a day.
Put your burden at the feet of the Lord and ask him to give you the strength, discipline, and self-control to see it through…for your own good and for his glory!
You can do it.
Yes. That’s right. YOU!
