At the start of every year my mother used to say in a very ominous tone, "I wonder what this year is going to bring." The tone of her voice often changed my outlook on the new year. Was the year going to be filled with turmoil and uncertainty? Would it be a year of constant change and calamity? My child and adolescent brain would spin a mile a second concocting the worse scenarios possible that could occur. This was unfortunate. I knew that my mother wanted to only prepare me to be able to withstand anything life could and would throw my way; however her words often heightened my anxiety, and kept me on constant alert. My fragile body and mind was constantly in a perpetual state of "bracing for impact," and as I entered adulthood, the physical and emotional drain of doing so was beginning to take it's toll.
It was not until I became physically ill with a disease I could not pronounce that I decided that something needed to change. Living a life by figuratively "holding my breath" was killing me. I wanted to breathe, but I didn't know how. I didn't want to have a doom and gloom disposition anymore, but I wanted to expect and anticipate that good things and good people are coming my way everyday, every month, and every year. I needed a transformation. One day, I sat at the edge of my king size bed, and flipped the pages of the Bible to a familiar passage found in Romans, and read Romans 12:2a "And be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind..." The words resonated deep within my being, and provided me a new frame of reference for life. Transformation begins in the mind. I needed to replace my thoughts with new thoughts, and retrain my brain to expect positive outcomes when uncertainty and ambiguity looms. I replaced my old thoughts with new ones by reading and confessing positive affirmations daily, until it became a part of my character and personality. As I continued to renew my mind, my outlook on life began to transform, and the outcomes I desired became a reality. Likewise, I would like to challenge you to retrain your brain. It's time to relax and to take a breath. Thinking positive doesn't occur overnight, but it is a constant progression, which requires you to feed your brain new ideas through exposure to new words. Resist the urge to conform to the unfruitful words that you may have heard from others concerning your life, and choose to transform daily into the person that you desire to be. Thoughts???
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AuthorAkon M. Walker, MPA, motivates readers to transform words of inspiration into life application. Archives
June 2019
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