I pray this first full week of Spring has been one of renewal, reinvigoration and revitalization for you. Hmm… quite a few words beginning with the letter “R” there. Could it be a theme? Perhaps a look ahead to Monday’s conversation? I guess we’ll find out together then.
In the meantime let’s take a few moments together to renew our path, with the rewards of his past week and review our most recent steps on this path to “Becoming Today”.
As we continue discussing our seasonal realignment, I have had several women ask me recently, “so this ‘Becoming’ seems like a good idea, but where do I go to get inspired”? How can I find the inspiration to get started?
The inspiration you desire is within.
It resides inside you, in each and everyone of us.
To start “Becoming”, you need to bypass your mind. Detach from those lingering thoughts , worries, and distractions. Find that peaceful place and in solitude to make the decision to take action for yourself.
Make the decision to follow your heart and take action on what you know for yourself, what you want to achieve and the Truth. Just make a decision to listen to your heart and heed your intuition. Your heart is programmed by God. Your mind by other people. Choose love and the path revealed will lead you to your true purpose, your destiny, the life you were intended to live.
The power to do it. The power to achieve it all is within.
Listen to it.
Follow it
Expect it.
Grow with it, then you are “Becoming”.
Earlier this year we spoke about goals and as we are fast approaching the end of the first quarter it will be time to revisit those goals, hold ourselves accountable and make revisions or total rewrites if necessary. Next week we’ll get more into the process, however to give you a little advance notice and to motivate you thinking today, we’ll revisit our initial goal setting processes.
So how do we start on the path of “Becoming”?
The first step is simple. Make the decision to do so. Just do it, already!
The next step a little harder, pledge to keep at it. Affirm your belief and commit to making the necessary changes, adjustments and growth focused necessities for whatever it is you want to become.
Then the third step, set some measurable goals.
Measurable goals and shared accountability are major factors in the outline for my household this year. We spent significant time prior to Christmas, examining, planning, developing, writing, reexamining, rewriting and further revising.
The result for our shared year of “Becoming”, is organized, written (and kept in a binder for easy shared access) goals for the entire household, each individual member and goals we each proposed for the other.
Now we did far more than a wish list, bullet points or “honey-do’s”. We set standards, action plans and even went further and made covenants. Making our goals more than documents, rather as living testaments.
Here’s an example for a goal offered for me that Im accepting:
PURPOSE
This goal I offer to Rochelle as a prayer for her continued growth and becoming. It is a testament to who you are, how worthy you are and what I may be able to do to assist you. My goal for Rochelle in 20/20 +1 ( see I have the family on board with the year’s demarcation, lol) is that she be fully aware of how God sees her. And that she remains true to His truth and continuing walking her path in His Peace and Joy.
COMMITMENTS
While the ultimate accountability for achievement rests solely in Rochelle’s heart, mind and actions, the following outlines aspects and suggestions I believe I can and are more than willing to assist her with:………..
Yes, the ultimate accountability not only in these goals but in the entire concept of “Becoming”, lies in ourselves. Personal responsibility is a key tenant of “Becoming”.
Then we also set specific goals for ourselves. Again with measurable acceptable and in three standards. From my own for 20/20 + 1:
SPECIFICATIONS
Review of progress on all three goals every 2 weeks throughout the first quarter of 2021. Increasing standards of accountability for taking responsible, inspired action on all fronts each and every day. A full review and shared revision with the household on April 1st. .
Then we get to the level of commitment. It’s not just a phase, a catchy slogan or pop psychology. We are viewing these written testaments as covenants:
“This year, 20/20 +1, will be my best year yet. Plus there will be many more, even better, yet to come.
This pledge of all the above documents is respectfully submitted for your and mine consideration; however those thought processes defer to and are secondary to the blind obedience I submit to God. I consider this a binding agreement between the Lord and myself, fully accepting all responsibility for co-creating my best life now.”
And I also personally signed mine with the following line,
“ I love myself. I love the Lord and I love life”.
Something that in the past calendar year I could not say, or even fake at times.
Last year I hit some all time lows. Suddenly every aspect of my life seemed to be spiraling downward. I saw absolutely no place, or reason for me in this so-called ‘ new reality’. I had lost all hope and literally prayed for an end to it all. Tank God for unanswered prayers.
Instead I kept hearing these words, “Live Expectantly”.
Certainly not what I was expecting at the time, and at no moment then could I see, fathom or grasp any reason why this two-word phrase would keep popping up. “Live expectantly”? After a few months of struggle after struggle and this “Live Expectantly” continued and continued to appear, confound, confuse, baffle, beleaguer and at times just plain annoy me.
“Live Expectantly”! I would exclaim, what does it mean, and what does it have to do with me. And you know what? I asked the question and received my answer.
You get out of life what you put into it. I was expecting disaster and gloom and that was exactly what I was getting.
Years ago, more than I care to admit to, but even at the risk of dating myself (lol), I’ll share it anyways, there was a computer programming acronym “G.I.G.O.” It stood for Garbage In, Garbage Out. If you programmed garbage, that’s exactly what would be produced by the machine for you. It wasn’t the computer’s fault, it was the operator’s error. Conversely if you programmed with the right sequence, proper language and a formatted design, then you could achieve a desired result.
Flashback forward to the present, and all these decades later, I was putting garbage in my mind, my heart and my soul. So what else could I be able to receive but pure rubbish?
Then it hit me, (finally) that if I wanted to become, I had to make changes. I had to make new commitments. I had to accept new obligations. If I wanted to become something, I had to start, in a very active way. This is where “Becoming” becomes my new way.
Years ago, more than I care to admit to, but even at the risk of dating myself (lol), I’ll share it anyways, there was a computer programming acronym “G.I.G.O.” It stood for Garbage In, Garbage Out. If you programmed garbage, that’s exactly what would be produced by the machine for you. It wasn’t the computer’s fault, it was the operator’s error. Conversely if you programmed with the right sequence, proper language and a formatted design, then you could achieve a desired result.
Flashback forward to the present, and all these decades later, I was putting garbage in my mind, my heart and my soul. So what else could I be able to receive but pure rubbish?
Then it hit me, (finally) that if I wanted to become, I had to make changes. I had to make new commitments. I had to accept new obligations. If I wanted to become something, I had to start, in a very active way. This is where “Becoming” becomes my new way.
And a new way deserves a new acronym, right?
So I’m turning “G.I.G.O.” around and now talking “G.O.G.I.”:
Garbage
Out
Greatness
In
It’s time to take out the trash, put all the rubbish to the curb and get on with “Becoming”.
I was at the lowest point in my life when I discovered ( for lack of a better word, more like was led to kicking and screaming ), this concept. Oh my glass was far less than half full, my vessel was completely bone dry empty. Sometimes you have to be broken down in order to be lifted up. So I was, and it was then I came to understand I had to take some steps to initiate my own renewal.
- Desire.
- Commitment.
- Sustained Efforts.
- Realization of “Becoming”.
I had turned a corner and knew victory was just around the bend.
So I had to make that moment, that day my turning point. I’m glad I did, because I have never felt so blessed, filled with happiness, optimism, and HOPE.
Yes my Faith had been restored. My vision was “becoming” clearer. My thoughts sudden;y defied the logic of the situation and my sense of hope was overflowing.
It was my turning point day.
All because I took one small, baby step. I made a decision. To take the trash out:.
“G.O.G.I.”
Garbage
Out
Greatness
In
I had the desire to change to be “Becoming”, to live again and at a more authentic level than ever before. Are you starting to notice a pattern here?
- Desire.
- Commitment.
- Sustained Efforts.
- Realization of “Becoming”.
I never said it was easy. I never said it would be straight forward, idiot proof or undemanding. It is simply necessary that some steps are to be repeated. After all, you can not walk a mile, if you don’t walk the first five thousand two hundred seventy nine ( 5,279 ) feet.
Nevertheless, it’s all worth the effort. The fact that I’m still here to share these thoughts with you is a living testimony to it.
Please make this your turning point day. It all starts with a simple decision. To say “yes”. Then the simple steps begin to reveal themselves.
When you are feeling less than joyful, it’s a conscious decision for you to take the necessary action to foster the growth of Joy inside you. That’s where it resides. It’s not a destination, it’s more than an attitude. Joy is power, a strength and a reward that exists within each of us. It’s our individual responsibility to nurture it , co-create it and share it.
It is through how we choose to react to obstacles, circumstances and life in general as to how we do or do not experience joy. No one can truly take it away from you. Only you can prevent yourself from experiencing it.
Joy is extremely important to overcoming tests and trials as well as on our path of “Becoming” as it is through joy that we lead ourselves out of the darkness with Peace. Joy is one of the tools we are equipped with, to aid us in finding our answers, soulutions, authentic lives and to “Becoming” our destiny.
A supporting Scripture of this is found in the book of John. Jesus teaches that even though we will encounter tribulations, that we are to be of “good cheer” for he has overcome the world for us.
An extremely timely reminder as we approach this Easter week.
So how then do we go about living in joy? First make the decision. Then use that thought to realign your attitude to not only being joyful but also to share that joy. Taking the action then opens you up to receiving new inspiration, direction, love and to receiving the life you are “Becoming”.
And you have the power to unleash that Joy within you and all around you, my taking one simple action. Turn that frown upside down. Smile!
Yes smiling not only is a signal to others that you are filled with joyfulness, but it also makes physiological changes in your body.
So once you have started smiling, how do you keep developing your joy? By allowing your smile to be more than a physical reaction, but rather a state of your “Becoming”. This begins with developing a P.M.A.
Having a positive mental attitude allows for you to be open to insights and inspirations. It allows for your inner joy to grow and make you happier, more confident plus able to focus better on your goals, making them truly achievable.
W. Clement Stone was a very inspired teacher of this philosophy. In fact it supported his mission in life, which he simply and eloquently declared as:
“All I Want To Do Is Change The World, Make It A Better Place For This & Future Generations.”
Powerful and very “Becoming”. He also encouraged people to, “Keep your mind on your objective, and persist until you succeed. Study, think and plan.”
Focus your mind, eyes on your vision and remain steadfast in your actions until you achieve your desired outcomes. All ideas we’ve discussed here before. Along with growing and sharing what we have learned, Stone reminded us, “Whatever the mind of man can conceive, it can achieve.”
Plus he did speak of adopting these practices having a direct impact on his own personal joy, “There’s a great joy in my giving. It’s thrilling. It’s exhilarating. It’s important to be a part of sharing. It is my love. It is my joy.”
My prayer for you today is that you are consistently developing and redeveloping your joy. Find it, unleash it, share it always be “Becoming” joyful, joy filled and joyous. A lack of joy is of our own creation, it is born from how we choose to respond to circumstances.
Choose Joy. Choose a Joyous Life.
Nurture yourself with positive, compassionate self talk. Do not hang onto old baggage. Release the present interruptions and focus on who you are truly “Becoming Today”.
Be content. Approach all things, people, situations from a place of peace. Stay calm and sing songs of praise.
Monday with a joyful attitude we’ll discuss just how empowering this path can be.
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Becoming Today with Rochelle Jeanette 