Perspectives

Do you know how much understanding you'd have if you can just put yourself in the shoes of others.

Before you can understand others, you have to know and understand yourself. Many people think they know themselves so well and they actually don't. To understand yourself you will have to consciously study yourself, what your responses, reactions, feelings are in different situations.

Dale Carnegie once said something like this, "seek to understand rather than to be understood."

The moment people see that they are being understood, they become more motivated to understand your point of view.

The truth is this, most times, people are doing the best they can with what they know at the time. They don't always intend to cause pain, if they knew better, they'd most likely act better.

And I believe we are all more mature than asking questions such as "why should I be the one to take the first step?"

People aren't all idiots and you don't know it all. Learn to see things from the other person's perspective by putting yourself in their shoes and you will deal better with all.

FAILURE

What is failure really? In the world of today we use the world carelessly. There is this sense of “permanence” attached to FAILURE whenever it is used. There is a great difference between Temporary defeat and Failure.

Carrying a burdensome cross temporarily is not FAILURE. If you have the real seed of success within you, a little adversity and temporary defeat will only serve to nurture that seed and cause it to burst forth into maturity. Defeat, like a headache, warns us that something has gone wrong. If we are intelligent we look for the cause and profit by the experience. The only man who makes no mistakes is the man who never does anything. Do not be afraid of mistakes providing you do not make the same one twice.

Ultimately, nothing matters very much. The defeat that seems to break your heart today will be but a ripple among the waves of other experiences in the ocean of your life further ahead. Obviously, things matter but there is no need to attach strong emotions to disappointing events. It has happened, you have to get past it. God won’t let you go through anything you can’t handle. All the challenges we face work out in making us who we will become.

You won’t remember this one set back if you get in the habit of dealing with all setbacks appropriately. In the next 20years when you’ll have faced so many more setbacks and overcome them this will be but one.

At times like this, we want people to believe in us and come inspire us. But the habit of believing in yourself is what makes you a winner. God is with You!

There is a great difference between temporary defeat and failure. In every failure is the seed of an equal or greater achievement.

“Success is the ability to go from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm.”

-Winston Churchill

Don’t compare yourself to anyone. We’re all on different paths.

If you don’t lose your joy, no one can stop you. No one! No matter how bad things might look/be, keep your joy. Nothing is too small or big for your source which is God.

You are a spirit being and sometimes the physical world is trying to catch-up with the spirit world so don’t let what you see move you. Believe what your Father has said about you, hold on to it and speak it with full faith entertaining no doubt.

It doesn’t matter what people say or do. The most important thing is what comes inside you and what comes out of you. You can control that. You can’t control others but you can control yourself. 

As long as you don’t give up, lose your hope or joy, the fight is far from over. Don’t let anyone tell you when to stop fighting.

Truth known only to those who use their imagination is that the greatest reverses and misfortunes of life often open the door to golden opportunities.

We climb to heaven mostly on the ruins of our cherished plans, finding our failures were but friendly guide-posts that led us onward and upward to success.

You are fortunate if you have learned the difference between temporary defeat and failure, more fortunate still if you have learned the truth that the very seed of success is dormant in every defeat that you experience.

There is no FAILURE. That which seems to be failure is usually nothing but temporary defeat. Make sure you do not accept it as PERMANENT!!

Anger

A few years ago, I read this quote, “someone who can make you angry anytime he/she wants has control over you.” It got through to me and I never forgot it. If you know just what to do to make me angry, then you can control me.

Anger, which is just a feeling isn’t evil in itself, but most times people act out based on their anger and could be very destructive.

The truth is that many times you will be wronged and you will have every right to be angry, but there’s no excuse for doing something you will regret and that is permanently stupid because of a temporary feeling.

Truth also is that many people get angry unnecessarily, when you are around them you are always wondering what it is you did wrong.

We’re in a time where shallow-minded people go around saying, “I get angry easily”, about themselves.

Why should anyone feel pride in saying that they can’t control themselves?!

Anytime you do something stupid because of the anger you are feeling remember that you and not your anger will pay for it.

Your Spare Time

Recently, I read a quote that said, “you are as wealthy as you use your spare time.” This really got through to me. The truth is, you can tell the future of a man by what he does in his spare time.

Most of the wealthy/financially independent people known in our world today worked a lot during their spare time before they got where they are and many of them still do.

Think about it, you can do the same thing every average person does and expect to get more than average but it’s never going to happen. Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Immediately I read the quote, what came to my mind was self-denial, denying oneself short-term pleasure for long-term pleasure. The Bible in Proverbs 22:29 (MSG) says, “Observe people who are good at their work-skilled workers are always in demand and admired; they don’t take a back seat to anyone.”

We’re in a time where people, especially the youths are easily carried away by immediate pleasure/satisfaction and ‘fun’ things like the movies, TV, video games, social networking and so on.

My message is not that people should not have a good time, but that too many “good times” is not the way to success or wealth.

Don’t let different activities just fill your spare time, decide what happens in your spare time.

Value Your Spare Time!!

Fasting

Many of us are familiar with this word but the focus of this article is Christian Fasting.

When I was little, I learned fasting meant skipping breakfast and that it pleases God. 

Growing up, I also learned that there were other fast like “tv-fast”, “video-game fast”, “internet-fast” and also learned that fasting could mean skipping not only breakfast but lunch too or even all the meals in a day.

One thing all these fasts have in common is denying oneself pleasure.

Before I go on, let me say this, fasting doesn’t move God, it enables you instead. Anything God hasn’t given you already, fasting or anything would make him give you.

The fasting many Christians practice today has its focus on saying NO to the flesh. Romans 8:5 talks about saying YES to the Spirit. Saying NO to the flesh is good but more importantly is Saying YES to the Spirit, and that should be our focus.

So when we fast we should make conscious efforts to say YES to the Spirit.

Say YES to the Spirit!!