Do you know the secret to personal transformation?
Is it through discipline?
Yes, in part. However, if the discipline proves merely an external effort motivated by a desire to transform appearances, then it won't gain you the desired outcome.
Is there a particular crowd with whom you'd like to identify and belong? Are you looking to be accepted by the people at church, the crowd at the office, the artistic community, the rebellious bunch, the intellectual group?
A transformation of your appearance, of the clothes you wear and the places you spend your time will ultimately prove dissatisfying. Your essence longs to fulfill the profile that is uniquely you. To attempt anything else is a vain quest.
You alone are capable, you alone have the capacity and the ability, to fulfill Destiny's grand call on your life.
It's time for you to set your own trend in appearance, in wardrobe, in places to frequent based on your unique tastes and preferences. Show yourself to be the leader that you are by simply electing to live true to who you are.
The natural consequence of living authentically, is a community of friends and like-minded sojourners. They're naturally attracted to the idiosyncrasies you try so desperately to conceal in the name of belonging.
Transformation doesn't come by assuming new external attributes. You can change everything about your presentation, your clothes, your hair, your tattoos, your piercings, the way you speak and the events you attend and still not belong.
Years ago, I worked at a medspa. We had a regular client. He was kind and gentle, a beautiful individual. His visits to us were prompted by a desire to prove more attractive to his partner. He'd already undergone multiple reconstructive surgeries in an effort to better resemble his partner's ideal. He'd also spent thousands of dollars with us to become exactly what his partner requested. By the close of his treatments, his partner had moved on. Our client was left with head-to-toe reminders of his vain pursuit of love and the brutal rejection of unrequited love.
Transformation begins on the inside by a renewing of your mind. That's how you begin.
If you're going to be renewed in your mind, then you need to change what you feed your mind.
What you feast on is what you become. If you don't believe me, just look at the educational system.
Throughout our academic years, we're instructed to ingest certain materials. School feeds our mind. Upon entering we're students. Upon exiting we're doctors, lawyers, analysts, and engineers.
We become whatever we read. We become what we feed our mind.
The architect wasn't born an architect any more than the racist was born a racist.
The waitress wasn't born a waitress any more than the bigot was born a bigot.
The developer wasn't born a developer any more than the worrier was born a worrier.
These things are acquired through the feeding of the mind.
If you're going to transform your mind, then you need to change who you talk to, what you read, what you listen to, and who you spend your time with. Change all this and you'll be surprised how the rest of you changes.
My husband has a good friend. Before we had kids, he and his buddy spent a fair bit of time together. They'd often connect over the phone. I could always tell when they'd spoken because my husband's rhythm of speech and word choice would be markedly different. They wouldn't be his own. They'd be that of his friend.
The people with whom we spend our time and the way they speak absolutely affects our mind, which, in turn, affects every other area of life.
It takes a great deal of intentional effort to transform your mind.
You can change your hair color and even your skin color, you can change your wardrobe, your hobbies, and your body composition, but changing your mind can be tricky.
To transform your mind, you need to begin to feed on where you're going rather than where you came from.
What's your dream?
What are your passions?
What do you long to do with your life?
Feed on where you're going, not where you've been.
This challenge is compounded by sociological patterns. Consider this…you carry the extraordinary potential of a king or queen, but if you're surrounded by peasants then your royal capabilities will necessarily be stifled in the name of fitting in and belonging to the community with whom you've always identified.
This can prove extraordinarily challenging and lonely.
For much of my life, I occupied space on both sides of the tracks. I was exposed to wealth and I was exposed to poverty. In the company of wealth, you enjoy certain provisions and securities. In fact, they're so commonplace that you just naturally take them for granted. But, if you carry that air of expectation over to the other side of the tracks, you're perceived as uppity. The assumption becomes that you think you're better than others.
If you're going to be transformed, the process will necessarily begin in your mentality, in your thinking.
Your mind is the seat of your affections, it's your memory, it's what happened to you, it's how you felt about it, it's the things you've been through.
Herein lies all our troubles. We'd be fine if we didn't remember.
As you advance towards your future, towards the realization of your destiny, you will be tempted to identify with those who share your weaknesses, your appetites and affections. You'll be tempted to identify with those from where you came. But, just because you share similarities in your stories doesn't mean that you need to share mindset.
Sometimes what you came from remains so persuasive, that you have to distance yourself from it in order to protect the route to where you're headed. Reject the impulses that come from where you came and cultivate the ones that come from where you're headed.
It's time to commit to the transformation of your mind, which promises the transformation of your life. Answer Destiny's call and boldly step forward into the realization of all that's within you.
Let go of every weight that slows you down, especially the mindset that so easily trips you up. Run with endurance the race Destiny has set before you. You do this by keeping your eyes stayed on the vision you hold for your future. Press on towards the joy that awaits you.
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