Creating New Habits: Renew Your Mind

Here is a transparent moment… I have the ability to be lazy.  There I said it. And it’s true. My love for relaxation can turn into laziness at the drop of a dime. Honestly, I had to learn how to sit and be still a long time ago because of the nature of my job. It took a lot out of me and I had to learn how to relax for my own well being and mental health.  This new skill, as I like to call it, just fed the part of myself that can be lazy.  I have never really been a self motivated individual. I’ve always been a free spirited, go with the flow, kind of girl- and love to live spontaneously (planning has never been my forte).  I would make or say yes to plans and then break them if I didn’t feel like it in the moment. As a single woman, this didn’t really affect me too much. But things have changed. I was a hard worker at work and in school but, when it came to being home, I could be extremely complacent. 

Now I don’t know about you, but at some point this gets old. It started affecting different aspects of my life and I decided to take action! Listen, we have the full ability to change our lives, to change our mindsets, and behaviors. It’s up to us to make the changes we need to make in order to become who the Lord is calling us to be. We have to step up. People depend on us to answer the call that God has on our lives. This is it, we just get one life, and all it takes is obedience and reaching one person to potentially change a multitude. 

I started in a few ways. I had already had my mind made up that something within me needed to change (thank you to my hubby for consistently pushing me and holding me accountable). The first thing I did was pray. I asked the Lord, very frequently through prayer, to help me be more motivated and disciplined. I asked him to change my mind, create new neuropathways that would help me change my behaviors. This for me was foundational because I had to acknowledge that there was an issue. If we don’t acknowledge our issues, then the changes we desire will never come to fruition. The changes in our behavior begin with changing our mind, perspective, and how we see ourselves. 

The second thing I did on this journey to change my habits, was I repented. I repented for partnering with the lazy spirit. And this is the thing, I would encourage you to do your own research on this, I learned that the lazy spirit is truly just a byproduct of self idolatry…Self worship. If you think about what it looks like to be lazy, it goes a little something like this: 

1. Can you do this and that for me?

2. I’m tired and resting, can you…

3. I will do that later

4. I will, but…

I mean I could go on, but basically it is an excuse to stay in the position that you are in, and there is a sense of entitlement that comes with it as if you are owed something from someone. Let me help you out… you aren’t.  No one owes us anything. People do things for us out of the kindness of their hearts. I’m speaking to someone right now because my hands are flowing typing this blog as if it is automated. 

Lazy spirit= Self worship

Repentance is extremely important. It is something that, as Christians, we should add to our lifestyle. It is something that we should be doing on a regular basis because the truth is, we all fall short. We all have things that we do, think, and say that do not glorify God.  The quicker we repent, the closer we become to our Lord Jesus Christ. I also believe that the more our heart is postured to repent, the more open we become to the Lord revealing others things to us: revelation of more things we need to lay at his feet, revelation of his word and ways, revelation of how to use our testimony to help others get free. 

The final thing I did (and it doesn’t really stop here) is I change my thought processes by using positive self talk. I started to renew my mind. I started calling out who the Lord says that I am. I began to declare those things that weren’t as if they were. For example, I used to feel like all of the dreams I had to write a book or to have a successful blog (or whatever it is I wanted to do at the time) would so far out of reach. I didn’t really know how to start or really help grow my platform. I thought that if I just started writing, the Lord would then miraculously make things happen and take off for me. Um… NO! That has happened for some people, but it is not a norm for the majority. God’s word clearly states in 2 Thessalonians that those who are not willing to work, will not get to eat. Now this does not mean you won’t eat. But this is more of a principle to follow. If you work hard, you get to eat (whether this is food, whether it’s income, whether is reward). It’s said as an example to show that when you work hard, you have the right to expect food (payment, accolades) in return. My expectation from God was “you called me, I’m the vessel, but you do the work.” This is so backwards. What I noticed, in different areas of my life, was that when I started putting in the work, I started to reap MORE. It’s not that I wasn’t reaping, I was. However, I wasn’t reaping in the way that I desired. I had to change and it not only changed me, and is still changing me, but it also started changing my household. It is a simple principle to live by and can truly make life that much easier. 

So I encourage you to look inwardly to see what it is that is keeping you stifled. Humble yourself before the Lord and whoever else you need to and make the decision to sit in an uncomfortable place for the betterment of yourself and the relationships around you. I promise you won’t regret it. So remember to…

I pray that this encourages you, and I look forward to sharing more about this journey as time goes on.