Greetings!
We are going back to Romans today.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The Greek word at the root of transformation is metamorpho. It is the process of changing states and is the root word for metamorphosis. In that process, a caterpillar changes into a butterfly. It is no longer earthbound and stuck crawling around, but instead can fly and no longer thinks of itself as a caterpillar.
Assuming butterflies have thoughts, that is :)
There is a war between the thoughtful part of your brain that knows what you should do and the pleasure centers that want gratification now. There are a number of ways we distort our thoughts, among them being:
- overgeneralizations- "I'll never change"
- thinking with your feelings- "I feel like a failure"
- predicting the future- "I can't do this forever"
- blame- "everybody in my family is like that"
- denial- "I can quit whenever I want, I just don't want to"
- focusing on the negative- "I only lost eight pounds"
It's been addressed before, but God uses failure to educate us. As we dig deeper into the Focus section of the Daniel Plan, it's important to remember that because He teaches us through failure, changes will likely unfold gradually over the course of not only the Daniel Plan's 40 days, but throughout our lifetime.
This plan is the only the beginning and the trajectory won't always continue upward.
Moving on.
What is your motivation?
Motivation is the reason a person has for acting a certain way. I've found in my own life, that my motivations seem to come from two different perspectives: to attain benefits and to avoid negative consequences.
I want to attain the benefits that eating healthier has to offer and avoid the negative consequences that come with eating donuts all day long, namely diabetes, weight gain and possible comparisons to Homer Simpson.
Attaining the benefits and avoiding the consequences, for me, is about brain power and action.
Think about your health and learn to become mindful, intentional, and purpose driven. You'll need a healthy brain and a renewed mind to do that.
-Noel