• You are not really governed by anyone around you (even though you sometimes may think you are).
• In fact you are not directed by any outside influence, UNLESS you choose to be.

Now with that clue you have probably guessed by now that YOU are your own boss.

Yes that is right, your life is governed by YOUR choices!

Now you may already know this – great, but if you did not, did you notice the way I phrased the second to last sentence?

The real question is: Is your mind succeeding in lording it over you? Or, are you being “bossed around” by your mind?

Today I was reminded of this as I was reading over some my notes in my learning journal from the month of May. I came across the following quote by Mike Murdock.

Ah, yes your mind WANTS to master you, but it was created to be your servant. This means that you should be telling it what to think right? Your will needs to be in control of your life.

So the question is: Are you exercising your will over your mind every day, and telling it what to think? How can you do that?

Mike Murdock went on to say: God gave you a mouth to conquer your mind.

How do you conquer your mind?
You subject your mind to become your servant by the words that you speak.

Do this make sense to you?
What is the most important adjustment you need to make in your life today to make sure that your mind really is your servant?

Make the adjustment needed for your will to take control.

Do this every day, and your life will change!

Photo Credit

Recommended resources: Download a free set of mp3s and mp4s from John Di Lemme that will challenge you AND show you how to take control of your life.

What a powerful rebuke no? How many times do you and I permit a situation and then when it actually happens we get upset.

But you might be asking, in what ways do I actually permit a situation?

There are three main ways you permit a situation to happen (that could have been prevented):

1. Deliberately ignore the signs of something growing simply because you really don’t want to deal with it. This is the delusion of “if I ignore it, it will go away”.
2. Lose your focus because of distractions. You did not even see it coming because you were too distracted.

li>Talk yourself into it (or think yourself into it). Negative words thought and/or spoken can get you and I into more trouble than we realize.

Prevention is always better than cure right?

The solution is:
So many situations in our lives can be prevented. How?

• Take courage to confront a small situation before it becomes a big one.
• Stay alert to what is happening around you. So many things (especially accidents) happen in our lives in a split second of distraction.
• Make sure that you are speaking and thinking positive words every day.

Don’t waste time complaining about what you permitted.

• Learn from it.
• Focus on the solution and the recovery plan.
• Fill your mind with positive words, motivational and problem solving solutions (which you will find when you read good non fiction books every day).
• Follow your recovery plan.

When you and I accept the responsibility for our mistakes, learn from them and determine to recover from them life can only get better – and it does!

Photo Credit

It is always good to be reminded of things we may have already learned, but perhaps need to spend a little more time putting into action. After all:

Let’s take some time to put this truth into action today.

Have you ever gone through a time in your life when you have had to endure pain or physical discomfort? Then you know that your mind will tend to adjust to the pain or discomfort in order to cope with the situation.

Danger:
However, there is a danger with this If you allow your mind to adjust completely you can even come to a place where the pain is so much a part of your life that you not be able to imagine life without it.

What happened?

The same can happen during times of financial difficulties.

Let’s take a quick look at a very common scenario to see how your mind may work in a financial crisis:

You are driving down the street in your older model car which is starting to fail a little. Next thing the red engine light comes on. In a flash your thoughts react:

Oh no, I can’t afford this right now — or
Well it will just have to wait .. etc.

You get the picture? Now these statements may be the reality of the moment, BUT when you allow your mind to focus in this direction what is happening?

• Every time you focus on the thought of lack, you strengthen the mindset of fear (oh no, I can’t afford this to happen right now).
• Every time you allow yourself to adjust to a lack (it will just have to wait), your chances of overcoming it move further away from you.

Now this does not mean that you are going to live in denial.
Neither does it mean that you are going to live in anger or frustration until you achieve what you want. Absolutely not.

• What it DOES mean is that it you are going to change the way you deal with pain or lack.
• You are going to retrain your mind to face this present reality with FAITH. Faith does not deny facts. Faith faces the present reality, but at the same time can see beyond the present to the victory over the situation. The Bible expresses this by saying: Faith is the substances of things hoped for (Hebrews 11:1)
• You are going to focus on thinking of creative ways to overcome any obstacle you may be facing.

The big key: what is your decision?

• Every success story starts with a decision.
• Every miracle starts with a decision. Yes, God IS a miracle working God but as you read the Bible you will discover that He works with FAITH.
• You have to DECIDE to believe first.
• Faith begins with a decision – a decision to change your focus.

So what is the challenge for today?
How exactly CAN you make sure you are focusing on conquering and not on coping (or adjusting)?

1. Make a decision to become alert to HOW you deal with any unmet needs or lacks in your life. How are you reacting?
2. Listen to yourself. What WORDS are you using?
3. Now turn these words around to FAITH words.

For example: Instead of thinking: “Oh no, I can’t afford to fix that right now”

Think: God is pouring creative ideas and solutions on me. God is for me, not against me. I am focusing on His abundance.

Of course it is always easier to focus on positive words and solutions when you are following the daily habit of reading the Bible and other great motivational books!

Resources:
Coping or Conquering – Which Are You Doing?
Dr Mike Murdock Wisdom Online
Photo credit San Malo Conquered by alexmasters on Flickr.