In one month, I’ve been told I’m too nice, and I take everything personally. We’re often told it doesn’t matter what others think of us but truthfully, sometimes it does.
Accepting constructive criticism is hard for everyone, but when you’re an anxious person, it’s the worst. We spend a lot of time beating ourselves up, so hearing from others about areas in your life, or your character, where you’re lacking is not an easy thing to do. In fact, it can downright suck. However, there are times when you need others to tell you things about yourself that you can’t see. Things that can hinder your growth to purpose. With our negative thought patterns, it’s easy to think the world is against us at times. We feel that no one understands who we are, or the way we think. In a way, it kinda gives us an excuse to remain the way we are. The thing I’m really beginning to realize is a lot of times it’s not the world’s fault for why we anxious people can be such downers. It’s not even The Enemy who is attacking our peace of mind. A lot of the time the problem, really, is us.
The thing is, we all have things we really want out of life, and the bottom line is a lot of times when those things don’t happen for us, it’s because we’re blocking them. And almost 100% of the time, we do so unconsciously. We don’t even realize we’re blocking our blessings.
I remember being in church one Sunday. I was tormented during that time. Battling myself, I was struggling with unforgiveness, rejection, bitterness, and my controlling nature. These things weighed so heavily on me that when the prayer line opened, I got in it, which is something I don’t normally do because of my pride. I admit it: it’s embarrassing for me to get in the prayer line. I’m not a big fan of public displays of emotion, and whenever I’m at church, it’s virtually impossible for me to not end up bawling. I’m so glad I got in the line though, because I experienced an enlightenment so powerful, it drained me. No kidding. The woman who spoke with me and prayed for me was spiritually beautiful. Anointed. One of the things she told me that day was God says we can have whatever we want, whatever our hearts desire.
I never forgot those words, because I believe them to be true. We can have whatever we want. God says, “Ask and you shall receive.” Those words are true. You can truly have your heart’s desires, if you believe they can come true. Now, I have to say, be mindful of what those desires are. If those desires don’t align with changing your life or the life of someone else’s for the better, then those desires may come into fruition, but they won’t stay there. If you do wanna bring positive change into your life, it’s gonna take some work. The process won’t be easy. In order to get your heart’s desires you have to learn how to get out of your way. This is gonna take work on your part, as you’re going to die to your old self to give birth to your new self, the self you’re meant to be. Lean in closely my friends, as I share with you the ways to getting out of your own way to attracting your bounty.
You Must Have A Deep Desire To Change.
Change begins with the desire to do so. When you deeply desire to make a change for the better, you’re inviting God into your life and he begins to go to work for you. Open the door further by verbally asking God to come into your life to help you with yourself. When that happens from your heart, God’s coming. He’ll have to move some stuff out of your life in order to get you on the path you’re supposed to be on. Often, he’ll remove people from your life. Sometimes he’ll relocate you to take you out of a toxic environment. God can and will send things crashing down around you to get your attention, and to get you in line with your purpose. So, if it seems like you’re going through a rough time right now, it could be God working in your favor. Some of the very best things that end up happening to us begin from some of the worst moments in our lives. Just know that it’s God working for you.
You Have To Be Open & Willing To Change
It doesn’t matter how much you want to change or how much you desire your bounty, it doesn’t mean a thing if you’re not willing to put in the work and effort to achieve them. This means being open to understanding what it is about you that’s hindering you, and then going about changing those old behaviors. Continuously willing to have your feelings and your pride take a beating while God shows you areas in your life that needs attention, having someone close to you be honest with you about your shortcomings, or you realizing them yourself are great examples of being open to change. It’s those shortcomings that keeps you from the bounty that’s rightfully yours. It’s never easy coming to grips with the fact that you are the reason you’re not where you wanna be in life, but this is so important! You cannot change if you don’t know what to change, because we can’t always see our faults, and you can’t know what to change if you’re not open to some constructive criticism. So, go ahead and get your feelings hurt. Nurse your wounds, and then pick yourself up, roll up your sleeves and get to work on yourself. The short-term affront is worth the long-term victory.
Envision The Person You Want To Be & The Life You Want To Have
Once you decide to change your ways, you then have to visualize the outcome you want. This is important. You need to be able to see yourself as the You you wanna be and the life you wanna have. This trains your mind and gives it something to focus on, a goal to achieve. Wanna lose weight and have better health? Envision yourself 15, 30, or however many pounds lighter, and health issues you’ve struggled with minimized or gone. Want a better relationship with family? Imagine you and your folks spending time together, talking, laughing, and happy. Lacking confidence and assertiveness? Picture yourself effectively, not aggressively, standing up for yourself. Do this daily. You have to see yourself in the future with the goals you’ve always wanted accomplished. You already are the person you’re envisioning. You just need some help breaking through limitations you’ve placed on yourself.
Realize And Assert Your Authority
God wants you to succeed. Prosperity is your birthright. It’s what he promised to you. Your heart’s desires are yours for the taking if you want them bad enough. The hard part is understanding and believing that. You have the power to choose whether you want to do everything in your power to obtain your birthright, or block it. When those feelings of inadequacy come up, and they will because you’re human, understand that it’s OK to feel that way. It’s normal to feel anxious and discouraged sometimes. However, it’s up to you to get yourself out of a funk. Command and authority are also your birthright from God. You have the power to take command of any situation that’s disempowering or places limitations on your spirit and your joy. So, whenever you feel those feelings of inadequacy, or you begin to sink back into your old negative thought patterns, remember that you are precious, and you have the power to choose to stay in that dark place or exercise your authority over darkness and allow yourself to be lifted by God’s love and light out of it.
Be Stubborn
It’s hard to change our old ways, especially as adults. We pick up habits along the way in life that don’t serve us or help us grow, and we get so used to living with these habits that were never meant for us, that they somehow become second nature to us. Once you recognize habits or behaviors you want to change and begin to go to work on yourself, the old You won’t go away so easily. Oh, no, you are a fighter. This is where the real battle comes in as the old you fights with the new you for dominance. Don’t give up what you really want. Even if you take a break or stop altogether from changing, you can always pick yourself back up and start again. Just don’t ever give up. I know it’s hard, but the only way you’ll lose is if you stop trying. Practicing new behavior or new beneficial habits may feel uncomfortable at first because you’re not used to it, but the more you practice anything, the better you become at it. So, practice being stubborn. The old you will battle the new you– hard–for having the audacity to try to change, but the only way to defeat the old you is to become and remain the stubborn new you.
Let Go Of What Is No Longer Serving You
This one takes a little time. Letting go of what no longer serves you is a process. Just know you’re already doing that in doing the first 5 steps. This has to be practiced everyday, with the word “practice” being the key. Be on the lookout for opportunities. Whenever the opportunity comes up to practice some or all of these steps, don’t back down. Let’s say you wanna deal with envy. You find it hard to really and truly share in your friend’s happiness when she tells you she’s getting married, because that’s your heart’s desire too, and it just doesn’t seem like it’s gonna happen for you any time soon. When jealousy begins to take root in your heart, and completely eclipses the joy you feel for your friend, that’s a problem, and it can block your bounty. This is an opportunity for you. Here you’re faced with 2 choices: hang on to the jealousy and let it eat you up, and miss out on truly sharing in a joyous occasion with your friend, or you can recognize the human part of you wonders when it’ll be your turn, but remain optimistic that the man God has for you will arrive in your life, and trade that jealousy in for happiness and love for your friend. In doing the latter, you’re letting go of that which doesn’t serve you, which is envy. You always have a choice in matters like this. The more you choose to let go of heavy and negative feelings, the better you get at ditching behaviors that no longer serve you. With that negativity gone, you make a lot of room for your bounty.
Be Compassionate And Loving To Yourself
Love. You. Unconditionally. The way you love your children or your spouse. Keep in mind, you may not feel like doing these things all the time. There may be days when following these steps are easy and you’re passionate about executing them. Then, there are days when it gets to be just too much. There may be some days you fail at some or all of these steps, especially in the beginning. Through it all, LOVE YOU. In changing (or maturing) some of your behaviors don’t get so caught up in changing negative behaviors that you fail to appreciate the good about you. Understand there are some things about you that you just cannot change. If you’re sensitive, then you’re sensitive. If you’re funny, then you’re funny. If you’re bossy, then you’re bossy. There’s good in all these traits. It’s when these things are practiced in excess or used in a negative way, such as using your naturally funny nature to habitually embarrass and make fun of others, that it can begin to block your bounty. Also, keep in mind you’re changing the way you’ve been for years, so it may bring on a lot of anxious feelings. This is only because you’re tackling your problems head on, and that can be really scary.
Pray & Read
Prayer works wonders. Reading the Word transforms your life and arms you against the Enemy. It’s important to have a relationship with God–that’s how you receive your strength and your guidance. When you feel you just can’t go on any longer, pray about your situation. You’d be amazed at what God can reveal to you when you talk to him. I always knew I’d eventually have to study the Bible and pray to God. Admittedly, this was something I did not wanna do. Maybe because I wasn’t ready for the power the good book holds, or the transformation for my life that would be revealed to me in regularly speaking to God. It can still be hard sometimes. But when you read your bible and study the verses, you learn all the things God has equipped us with for this life, such as authority over the Enemy and darkness. Time and a relationship with God can give you the strength to push past your fears to continue to reach higher and higher levels in your life.
2 Timothy 1:7 says “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and of a sound mind.” There are so many things God gave us, and I’m still learning them all. If you find yourself stuck and unsure of how to proceed in any given situation, pray about it. If you don’t receive an answer right away, keep praying. Though he may not always be immediate, he’ll always answer you. Ask for guidance and what His will is for you. You have to be really sincere when you ask that question, because if you sincerely want to know God’s will for you, he’ll show you. And it could mean some big changes to your current lifestyle. So ask that question only if you’re seriously ready to unblock your bounty.
Ask and you shall receive. Remember that, because it’s the truth. Ask God for what you want, believe that your request is granted, and then put in the necessary work to have your desires become a reality. If your request is sincere and from the heart, God’ll move mountains to grant it for you. If you get stuck, God’ll get you through it, sometimes by working through other people. Though it is needed at times to have others around to tell you the truth about yourself and point out flaws in you that you can’t see, understand the purpose of doing any of this is to prove yourself to Yourself and God, not to others. Once you have that deeply embedded in your heart and live by it, you begin to get out of your way to start attracting the bounty that’s rightfully yours.
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