The Principles of Personal Transformation: Mindset - Embracing the Possible
Principle One: It's Possible - Personal Transformation When You're Already Halfway Down the Road of Life,
Matthew 19:26 But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Three Principles
There are three basic principles that help us in making major transitions in life.
We must believe -
It’s Possible
It’s Simple
It’s Quick
Once you grasp these principles, you will be able to make drastic and lasting changes in whatever area of life you focus on.
In truth, there are only a few reasons why most of us do not change, even when we know it would be in our best interest.
Habits - Habits are hard to break and replace with new habits. We do not want to put out the effort.
Motivation - We are not motivated enough to change. We cannot see the benefits clearly enough.
Fear - Fear is the number one thing that keeps us from following through even after we initiate needed changes in our lives.
We fear failure. We fear success. We fear the unknown. No matter how miserable we may be, we fear leaving our comfort zone. It is amazing what we will hang on to because it is comfortable.
As we break down each of these principles individually, personal transformation doesn't seem so intimidating.
And according to the first principle - It’s Possible. So let's start with that one.
It’s Possible
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. - Mark 9:23
The first thing that needs to happen for radical transformation to occur is to be convinced that it is at least possible.
We must settle in our hearts that spiritual, physical, emotional, mental, and yes, even financial transformation is possible no matter our current circumstances or how far we have traveled on the road of life.
Why is that so important?
Think about it - If someone does not believe something is possible, they probably won't even attempt it. Therefore, it will never happen.
Remember your school years - How many times did you say or hear someone say, “I'm just not good at math” or “I hate history” or some similar statement? We tend to steer clear of the things we feel that way about. Consequently, these types of statements usually become self-fulfilling prophecies.
Well-known Motivational Speaker, Zig Ziglar, called this “stinkin’ thinkin”.
But what if we could turn that thinking around? This principle works either way. If we keep telling ourselves that we can do well and achieve whatever we are attempting, chances are, we will be successful.
It is this belief that something is possible that sustains us through trials, discouragement, failures, and all the ‘Negative Nabobs’ out there that try to prevent us from reaching our goals.
You may or may not be a firm believer in what the Bible has to say, but there is much practical wisdom found there.
In both the Old and New Testaments, the words “belief” and “faith” are used interchangeably.
Hebrews chapter 11 gives a great look the subject of faith. It starts with a powerful word picture of faith being the actual substance (elements) of our hopes and the evidence (proof) of the existence and reality of things we cannot yet see - our dreams.
Following that is example after example of men and women who acted on the power of that kind of belief.
In human terms, they weren't always successful, yet they never wavered from their belief that they were called to do what they were doing.
Hebrews 11:35 ends this way:
“... and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection.”
They were so confident that they were doing the right thing that not even torture and death could deter them.
This is not some kind of pie-in-the-sky believe and receive sham where you think about something so hard it suddenly appears. No, this faith is so strong it produces action. The kind of action that brings about what you believe is possible.
This will be discussed in more detail in the Process section of this series.
Jim Rohn described this kind of faith perfectly -
When a dream is so strong, it will produce goals, which turn into actions that bring the desired results. - Jim Rohn
Philippians 4:13 states, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
Notice it says do all things not think all things.
I believe a fundamental lack of understanding of this is the reason why most Christians live far below their means and ability to serve God in any significant way.
God gives each of us a personality, passions, and potential (gifts, skills, abilities). Yet we squander a good portion of our lives, being dissatisfied while we sit back waiting for God's call as if it’s out of our hands.
In reality, we’re just too lazy and comfortable in our misery to do anything about it.
Jesus said, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Now I know that some will say, “Well, that is not for the Church – Christians are called to suffer.”
Peter responds, “For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing.” - 1 Peter 3:17
James goes as far as to question our salvation if we say we believe but our faith produces no “works”. (ref. James 2:14-26)
Then he adds this:
Therefore to him who knows to do good, and does not do it, to him it is sin. - James 4:17
The “doing” being referred to here is the outworking of what God is working in us to will and do in accomplishing His plan (ref. Philippians 2:12-13).
This is what providence looks like. It is accomplished through constant personal transformation (preparation) to meet the opportunities we are presented with.
CHALLENGE: Since trials and suffering are part of life, no matter whether you do well or not, why not do well and help as many others as you can along the way?
Childlike Faith
Children do not have the problem of unbelief.
When learning to walk and talk, two of the most difficult feats to accomplish, a young child does not think in terms of whether it’s possible or not. They just do it over and over again until they are victorious. Failure is simply not in the realm of a child's thinking.
In a child’s mind, it is possible because they see others already doing it.
In The Strangest Secret, Earl Nightingale said, “The opposite of courage is not cowardice, but conformity.”
It seems that as we grow up we are conditioned to accept “ordinary” as the standard and all our dreams of being or doing something extraordinary are buried in the conformity of life.
Somewhere along the line, we begin to lose that childlike belief, and our lives conform to the will and thoughts of everyone around us (dare I say it - the World). We settle for far less than the potential that God equips us for and expects of us.
One of the most striking modern-day examples of someone who took God at His Word that all things were possible is R.G. Letourneau.
This man believed the Lord quite literally when He said “Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” - Matthew 17:20
He did not sit back singing “Kumbaya, My Lord” and wait for the mountain to move. He took action. He designed and built huge earth-moving equipment which could literally “move mountains”.
I highly suggest getting a copy of his autobiography, Mover of Men and Mountains.
Believing is Only the Beginning
Do you have a dream of doing something with your life beyond what you’re doing now? Do your God-given talents and abilities point to a road you haven’t yet traveled?
Before we can go any further, we must firmly believe what God has put in our hearts and mind to accomplish is possible.
Only then can we begin to travel down that road.
Next time, we’ll take a look at the second principle of personal transformation that will help us along the journey: It’s Simple.
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