#Winning is a common phrase today! However, most people, if you were to ask them, would tell you that they just don't feel like they are actually #winning at life! It's true that we go through tough times and seasons of transition but when that season feels like a lifetime there is indeed something wrong with that picture! Here are some ideas that will help you jump-start your life and move out of the loser’s corner and into the winner’s circle!
1. You always give up and crumble right before the finish line.
If you are expecting the race to be easy...think again. Life is not always easy. In fact, it is mostly hard, but it is still VERY possible to live an extraordinary life! Knowing that the challenges are there to propel you forward is the first key to success. If you are always on the defensive then you will always be fighting to maintain, but if you move by "revelation" and "new vision" you will begin to see how insignificant the little problems in your life actually are...compared to the bigger picture. Imagine how your house looks from an airplane...yet imagine how your house looks when you’re on ground level. If you're always focused on what happened to you and all the little problems, then you will never move beyond the mental state that you were in when those things happened to you! It's time to get a new journal and get in the position of prayer to be able to see a NEW VISION for your life!
FACT: Most people give up right before their breakthrough! If you knew that your breakthrough was coming tomorrow...would you give up today? The tipping point will come if you just stay faithful you will #win!
2. The wall that you are facing is actually a staircase!
Many people look feel like they are always hitting brick walls...but I learned a long time ago that what may seem like a wall is actually a staircase. So we are in a cycle of hitting the wall...then retreating...hitting the wall...then retreating. We are in this endless cycle of never moving ahead because we expect ahead to be straightforward...when ahead may mean moving UP! It takes more energy to climb stairs than to walk on a straight path...but in order to move out of 1 level, you have to do a little extra work. You may have to take a leap of faith...or you may have elevated your thinking by renewing your mind (through the word of God). Either way repeating the cycle has not helped so do something different! God is trying to take you higher! What you thought was a simple foot race is actually an obstacle course! Those obstacles can either trip you up...or they can be your jumping-off point...your great launching pad!
Remember that in History, some of the greatest World Changers and #winners were those who rose up in the midst of great challenges! Would you know about Martin Luther King Jr. if there was not social injustice and racism to fight against? Let the climb bring out the best in you! Not the worst!
3. You complain way too much!
Winners are not made of Whiners! The greatest key to your success is THANKSGIVING! The more you are grateful for the less defeated you will feel in your life and situation! Making a habit of giving thanks to God even in the midst of a hard situation is your pathway to freedom from that situation! Being thankful is the rope that rescues you out of the hole of despair! All it takes is one reminder to break you free from your self-defeating thinking patterns! Remember: You are better than you think you are! You have more in you than you even know! You were not built to break, but you were made to #win!
4. You are not in a competition with anyone but yourself!
If we continue to compare ourselves among others we will never actually #win! Me winning means something totally different than you because we both have different purposes and assignments from God. Keeping your eyes on the prize means keeping your eyes on yourself! How can I be a better me than I was yesterday? How can I be a little more positive? How can be a little bit bolder in my faith today? It's not about what you have accomplished in comparison to someone else...but it's what have you accomplished in light of what God has called you to do? Are you being obedient to HIS voice? Are you making HIS PLANS your priority? Focusing on You is the key to #winning.
5. You never try anything new!
Some traditions are good...and some traditions are just plain bad and no longer useful! Sometimes if we feel like we are in a rut in life we have to evaluate what we are doing that works and what we are doing that doesn't. This is hard because we like "same" even though the "same" that we like we actually hate! So step out on a limb and do something different to get a new and different result! You can't actually win if you never enter the race! There is always the chance of failure if you try but there is a 100% rate of failure if you never even give it a go! Imagine the Wright Brothers who dared to try something new...and set out to create a machine that would fly!!! Would we have the airplane technology today if they gave up the first time their plane didn't take off the ground as they thought? NO! but they made some adjustments and they tried again! Eventually, they got off the ground and the rest is history! It may look crazy but who really cares how crazy you look if it's effective?
I believe with all of my heart that everyone has a God-given purpose that must be discovered in order to be successful! Success in not measured by the amount of money that you make but the amount of purpose that you have fulfilled! #winning is en-grafted in your very DNA! You have been called a conqueror and an over-comer through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ! In fact...he placed the gold medal around your neck and declared you a winner before you even started running! That in itself should be some good motivation!