rosekirkland's Blog: Dare to Change

At every moment, especially in times of challenges, each of us is confronted with an important choice. Will we allow ourselves to be controlled by our fears or will we choose instead to be guided out of faith? Many times, as individuals, each of us will be called to face these two choices. We’ll be challenged to walk the fine line between listening to fear and allowing it to stop us or to surrender to faith. The choice we make in that very moment will determine the destiny of our future.

Fear is a human emotion that informs us about potential danger. It urges us to protect ourselves, to defend what is ours, to guard our belongings, and our families. Yet, there comes a time when fear ceases to be of service especially when we’ve done all we can do about a challenge and the outcome of our situation is clearly out of our hands. Therefore, we must turn the situation over to something than ourselves and surrender to it to faith. (This has been challenging for me at times when I haven’t known what to do about a situation ! !

Surrendering to faith is an act of COURAGE which is a divine act that gives us access to realities beyond what we know. When we make choices rooted in faith, we trust that there is a power and an unseen force which is guiding us. We know that we’re being taken care of and that everything will “turn out fine.” Faith gives us the ability to look beyond our immediate circumstances and imagine new situations for our future. Faith gives us the strength and reassurance we need that leaves us bathed in the wisdom that we are NEVER alone. Therefore, it allows us to just trust and say, “Even though I feel scared or I’m not sure where I’m going, I am going to trust that everything will turn out in my highest good and to my best interest.”

Making the choice of faith is the foundation of our spiritual lives. When we make the choice to act from faith rather than fear, we’re able to view the world from a higher perspective. It invites us to believe in something we cannot see, feel, or know. When we choose to live in faith, we’re blessed with the support and cooperation of the Universe.

Questions to Ask Yourself:
1. Identify an area in your life where you are being held back by fear. Close your eyes and ask yourself, “What is the message that my fear is trying to give me?” What action would “fear” like me to take in order to protect myself?”

2. Next, notice if there is any area in your life that could benefit from a little more faith. Do you have enough faith to ask for what you need? Do you have enough faith to take a risk that may improve your situation? Are to ready to "take action"? Allow yourself to see what actions you could take this week to build your faith muscle, and commit to taking these faith steps.

3. Name a time when you had to make a choice between “FEAR” or “FAITH” and what was the gift in making the “FAITH” choice?????? “Dare to Change” by choosing to have faith!

What if your belief about this prevented you from effectively helping a larger number of people to change their present circumstances? Would you be strong enough to point out the belief that you could see was not to their highest good? Throughout my years as a counselor and in working with people in a home-business I know that helping someone change their beliefs can only be changed if they are ready to change.

"The degree that a person WILL change is based on two things:

1.The degree of DISCOMFORT they are FEELING in the present moment about their present circumstances (as they are talking about and feeling it).
2.The degree of their desire (FEELING) to change those circumstances.

People make changes based MOSTLY on feelings and not on logic. Unless you're prepared to allow people to talk about and express how they FEEL about their present circumstances, they're unlikely to explore making a change---IF making a change is what they are looking for. If someone does make a change based on logic-- the research shows that shows he/she is unlikely to continue in a home-business or “online turnkey business opportunity”. They will probably quit. Change must come from “the heart”.

The essential difference between feelings and logic is that feelings lead to action while logic leads to conclusions. Both of them are important; however feelings comprise 90% of the motivation for them to change their beliefs and therefore, their results. Therefore, it is important to challenge your own beliefs.

By challenging and changing your own beliefs about talking with anyone, anywhere, anytime, you can dramatically increase the number of people you can effectively assist to "change the course of your life". We must be strong enough to challenge other people’s beliefs and it is done lovingly by wanting the highest and best for them. Seeing them as the person they could be is critical and challenging the beliefs that can “get in their way” of success is so important. How do you feel about challenging someone that has beliefs that are “standing in their way”?

Do you ever listen to some of the beliefs that people share with you and think that some of these people just don’t “get it” and clearly have “no clue” what they are saying and speaking? They don’t realize the power of their spoken words and don’t understand the Law of Attraction and what they are attracting with their negative beliefs and by using the words (DON’T, NOT, and NO) so frequently in their conversations.

Years ago, I read the book, “The Game of Life”, “The Power of the Spoken Word”, “Your Word Is Your Wand”, and “The Secret of Success” by Florence Scovel Shinn. Throughout the years I have read it again several times. She speaks so strongly about the power of the ‘spoken word’ and the words we speak that have the ability to speak life or death into any situation.

To clarify what I mean by the power of the spoken word and distorted beliefs is that this week I received an interesting email from this person. She was talking about her belief about a certain situation in her life and how it just was not working. I couldn’t believe what I was reading and knew I needed to challenge her about that “distorted” belief that would get in the way for her to be able to “change the course of her life” and be successful.

Asking questions about how people “feel” about their personal situation is a question, in my opinion, generally reserved for personal relationships. It isn’t the type of question that comes up frequently in a conversation with someone you’re speaking to for the first time in a business conversation. However, that is NOT my belief simply because I believe in asking strangers to expand on what they are saying if I see it as a detriment.

Therefore, I don’t allow that belief to stand in the way of me communicating with everybody. I believe that if God brought that person into my life then they have something to learn from me and I have something to learn from them even it means challenging their unhealthy belief.

Come back and read: Challenge the Beliefs That Can Get in Your Way—(Part 2)

"We are not helpless dolls...we do not behave as we behave by accident."-- Ernst G. Beier

How does change for us begin? Well, first we have to be aware! Most people know they have a problem and want to understand their problem; but, they don't know what to do about it, or they feel powerless to change.

Awareness is the FIRST STEP to making a change; however, many people are still far from making a commitment to change because they are stuck in this stage. They spend years telling themselves that they are going to change "one of these days." Before they know it, they look back, the years have flown by, and they wonder what happened. How did they get to this place? Did they realize that they had a choice and if so, what choice did they make?

My opinion is that fear of failure keeps many people stuck in this stage or it could be fear of success. They hide from the truth by telling themselves that they're waiting for the "perfect" weight-loss program, the perfect time to do something, or the perfect person that will do it for them.

We hear such comments such as, "I'll change when the time is right”. People in this stage are of the self-change cycle. There will never be a "right time," of course, but they haven't been able to break out of their verbal cage.

Some people in this stage are never able to make a serious commitment to change, even though their life depends on it. We are all familiar with the day-to-day experiences and struggles of ordinary people who are stuck in this stage. The decision to make a change starts with choice. Then, the choice starts with the commitment. Then, the commitment comes before the clarity of how to change…

Below is an article that Jim Rohn wrote on change: I LOVE IT!

Change Begins With Choice
Jim Rohn

Any day we wish, we can discipline ourselves to change it all. Any day we wish, we can open the book that will open our mind to new knowledge. Any day we wish; we can start a new activity. Any day we wish; we can start the process of life change. We can do it immediately, or next week, or next month, or next year.

We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence.

The choices are ours to make. However, while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We created our circumstances by our past choices.

We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. Those who are in search of the good life do not need more answers or more time to think things over to reach better conclusions.

We cannot allow our errors in judgment, repeated every day, to lead us down the wrong path. We must keep coming back to those basics that make the biggest difference in how our life works out. Then we must make the very choices that will bring life, happiness and joy into our daily lives.

In addition, if I may be so bold to offer my last piece of advice for someone seeking and needing to make changes in their life… If you don't like how things are, change it! You're not a tree. You have the ability to totally transform every area in your life… and it all begins with your very own power of choice.