Article Moving Forward With Hope

Do you see yourself as a failure? Does it seem like everything you do turns out wrong? Do you worry that it will always be this way?  John Maxwell writes in his book “Failing Forward”, “The difference between average people and achieving people is their perception of and response to failure.” Have you ever considered the distance between failure and success? Write those two words on a whiteboard, a scrap of paper or in your notebook. Draw a line between the two words. Now, define what complete success means to you; not to anyone else but just TO YOU. When you look at the length of the line, do you define failure as anything less than complete success?

In a line from the movie Princess Bride, Miracle Max says “It just so happens that your friend here is only MOSTLY dead. There’s a big difference between mostly dead and all dead. Mostly dead is slightly alive.” Success is like that. You can decide that you are able to reach success by defining it as something within reach, and failure is at the bottom.  Visualize your level of success, are you partly there? Are you getting there? We all need to have high standards for our lives but not set so high and judged so rigorously that we can never reach our goals.  In the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11 says; “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Write “Hope” above success and focus on reaching that point.

Are Your Habits Healthy?
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Good habits add to us, unhealthy habits steal from us?”
Here is something to consider; if you get busy making new good habits, you may find that you don’t have time for the old “bad” ones. First of all you have to think about all of the things you do and define what you think is a good habit. Then, exercise that habit, feed it and encourage it to grow.
For example, what about eating: instead of denying yourself, if you stay focused on preparing and eating tasty, healthy foods, you don’t have time to think about “junk” foods that add nothing to your body but calories. Almost every magazine or newspaper has an article on what foods are good for you, suggestions on how much to eat and often recipes. Remember a complicated recipe can actually help burn calories!
For example, what about smoking: if you keep busy and active, you will naturally have less time to use for that activity. Consider keeping your focus on helping others and sharing your blessings. You will save money from not smoking a couple cigarettes each day and gain self-esteem by reaching out to lift up the needy.
Maybe you have found that your spiritual house is unhealthy. Have you let attending church, praying, and listening to God slide off your list of priorities? Are other activities eating up a lot of your time, causing you to walk away from your faith? The medical community agrees that folks with a spiritual connection and happy attitudes are often healthier. A good habit to work on might be to connect with your church and reach out to help others. Remember that a few good habits will add much to your life.