WRITTEN BY CHERYL WELLS
When you look in the mirror, what do you see? What do you think? What do you say about yourself? It is key. You must see value in yourself to add value to yourself.
Denis Waitley says – “Personal development is the belief that you are worth the effort, time, and energy needed to develop yourself.”
I do believe that all people have the seeds of success within them. That is what John says and I so heartily agree! It is why I do what I do! It doesn’t matter who you are, or what you have done, or how much schooling you have or don’t have, everyone has greatness within them and potential to do something really great for God and for others! I have built my life and my calling on this truth. It doesn’t matter how bad someone might be, or how hard they have fallen – or how many times. I am willing to work with someone if they can believe that all things are possible with God. Psalm 139 says that each of us was knit together in our mother’s womb by God and that He knows and loves us and that we can never get away from Him. It says, “where can I go from Your Spirit?” I love adding value to others and watching them soar. I love to tell people that God holds them up as a trophy of His grace and He is so proud and so am I!
One of the main reasons that people stay stuck and will many times go back to their old stuff is that they are plagued with memories of their past, they believe the lies of the enemy and live it out. People struggle with low self-esteem because of their past and the lies they believe about themselves. When they look in the mirror they see the past, the old them and not the new and redeemed. But the truth is that when we look in the mirror we can and should see ourselves as a winner and as a yes! I love to help people get to a win and to know there is always a yes! However, even when people tell us and we try to tell ourselves, sometimes it just feels like it is hopeless and we still see ourselves as a failure.
There is a great story in John Maxwell’s book, “The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth” (in the 3rd chapter) that you should read about Johnetta. She finally took a look in the mirror on her 30thbirthday.
“That day I woke up and realized that I had absolutely nothing to celebrate – no money, no full-time job, no home, no husband, and no clue, not even the will to do better… At last, I knew it was time to make some changes.” She began to take some bold steps and decided to go back to school and even college. She was motivated by a profound thought: “I get a chance to be anyone I want to be.” It took her almost 3 years to pull it off, but she made the move and she enrolled in Kennesaw State University. She realized for the first time that she loved herself. She completed the work for the bachelor’s degree in 3 years. Then she enrolled in the graduate school where she earned her master’s degree and currently she is working toward her doctorate.”
But I want to say that some people are 40, 50, and 60, and they still don’t see their potential. They are still living in the lie and the shame of their past failures. But we get stuck and can’t even add value to ourselves because we are living out the lie that we are still that _______. What is it for you?? What is it that you say about yourself? When no one else can hear you? Only God. He knows.
How can we overcome those lies and those voices? There is a way and we have to believe it and receive it. It’s a conscious choice, like forgiving someone. It’s a conscious choice to go to God and believe His word and live it out and choose to throw out the lies and our pride and selfishness, we are choosing regret and self-pity and relying on our self instead of remembering what Jesus did for us on the cross and believing in the power of the resurrection. We are trying to live and not trusting for our life.
How we see ourselves is the single most significant key to a person’s behavior. Zig Ziglar said – “It’s impossible to consistently behave in a manner inconsistent with how we see ourselves.” We can do very few things in a positive way if we feel negative about ourselves. It’s about the value judgements that we make about ourselves. Everything is impacted by that.
People are never able to outperform their self-image. Seek healing if this is something that you struggle with and I would recommend using these steps to build your self-image.
- Guard your self-talk, there is power in the tongue.
- Stop comparing yourself to others, your mission is to become better today than yesterday.
- Move beyond self-limiting beliefs, when a man has put a limit on what he will do, he has put a limit on what he can do.
- Add value to others – it’s not all about you and it’s good to get your attention on others.
- Celebrate! Always look for things to celebrate and allow yourself the time to do it.
- Practice the One-Word Strategy. Select one word that best describes you and live it out.
- Take responsibility for your life. We tend to get in life what we are willing to tolerate. Believe in yourself and get started.
