(Post moved to page status – 6.7.13)
The DEEP
How To Defeat the Voice That Says “You Can’t”
DO YOU EVER FEEL LIKE life is running too fast for you to keep up? Do you sometimes wonder whether you will ever do those things you have dreamed about forever–or, worse yet, have you pretty well abandoned hope?
When we were young, it seemed that time was endless. Now, some of us are peeking at the hourglass, wondering how many grains of time remain for us–at least in this life–and how we can muster up the courage, strength and resources to make an impact on people and projects that are important to us.
Roadturn began as a commentary on life, and especially as a way of considering turnaround theory–how people can break through the circumstances that hold them back and take the leap into the life they had previously only dreamed of. Beginning with the Paul Potts story, in 2006, I wanted to know how major changes in the direction of one’s life occur–and what the individual can do to see a turnaround in his or her own life.
In the six years since, I have collected hundreds of stories, quotes and nuggets of wisdom that describe what I have come to call Roadturn Principles for Life. Some are about what to do, but the starting point is in the mind … what you think.
By the way, the Roadturn Principles didn’t come about through my own ingenuity. They are collected from writers and thinkers throughout the ages. My job has been to pick them up, turn them over, look at them closely … and report my findings.
Here’s a link to Dream Into It: The Roadmap to Freedom.
Roadturn Principle: The biggest battle you will ever fight is the one inside yourself.
Do you remember the Paul Potts story? He had to make a decision: would he turn in the application to Britain’t Got Talent, or would he give up and admit his dream of singing professionally would never come true? Paul depended on a coin toss to make his decision, but if he would have known about the LIVE method of dealing with the inner critic, there would have been no chance for him to turn back and keep working at a job that was killing his Dream.
Don’t let chance continue to control your destiny. You have a God-given ability to make wise decisions that are in line with the life you have always wanted to live, but may have begun to despair of ever attaining.
Who am I?
He was on a flight between New York and Los Angeles. It was an excellent opportunity for self-reflection. Taking a look at himself, and the patterns in his life, Morty Lefkoe decided he was the kind of guy who always got back up, no matter what. He was an overcomer of obstacles.
Nothing wrong with that, right? The answer may surprise you.
But, first, try the exercise yourself. Complete the sentence:
I am the type of person who . . .
Once you’ve done that, take it a step further and ask,
What is needed in my life for that self-image to be perpetuated? What does it take to maintain a person like me?
In Morty Lefkoe’s case, that little exercise prompted a life-changing realization: A person who is always getting back up first needs to be knocked down. A person who is always overcoming obstacles needs . . . plenty of obstacles.
What does your self-image require? And how are you participating in providing those life events?
Be honest with yourself. The information you gain may be the key to unlocking the chains that have held you back from your Dream.
How to lose Focus (or not)
The big rocks–how can I keep them at the forefront of my day? How can I avoid getting off on rabbit trails and dead-end streets?
Have you ever asked yourself that question? I have . . . often.
The Dream Into It program keeps me heading in the right direction, but the daily working out of it can be circuitous. There is always something, isn’t there?
Part of the DIIP is the Battle On Plan (BOP). It is a tool that works like this:
I look back to the past 24 hours to see whether or not I have learned anything about the journey. Did something I do work well? Where there problems? Where there times when I behaved or performed poorly? If something comes to mind, I make note of it. First, I briefly describe the situation. Then, the lesson, using // (hash marks) to separate them.
Looking back over my BOP entries for the past few months, I see a recurring theme–a tendency to stray off track. How does that happen? My BOP reveals the top three traps I get caught up in:
1. Lust: Not necessarily a sexual thing. Lust is “strong desire.” The tricky part of this battle is that strong desire is a good thing–it can pull me down the path I need to follow. But it can also pull me down the road to ruin. Wisdom would have me consider my actions before I indulge, to look ahead and see where the path leads. One of my primary lusts, for instance, is root beer. I love the stuff. I crave it often. When I drink it, though, I suffer. Too much sugar. Carbonation. God knows what else is in there… and it messes with my digestion. Gives me a hangover. Drags me down and out. There is no value in root beer, for me. Why do I sometimes still drink it? Lust. // The answer: Remember the reality of how root beer affects my system. Think before I drink. Take good, pure water with me to the restaurant. Never keep it in the house.
2. Forgetting who I am and where I’m going. This is a central theme in the DIIP. If I don’t know where I’m headed, then I’ll almost surely end up somewhere else. Even though I consider my Dream daily, and I purposely advance in that direction, I can still get lost along the way. I can still lose focus. Some days, it’s a jungle out there. There are roots and vines and tangles grabbing at me from every direction. Fires to put out, chores to accomplish, bills to pay. // The cure for this one is to not lose sight–and when I do begin to get disoriented, to Stop/Look/Listen–to take time to remember again. I am a man of God. I am about His work. There is no rush, no shortage of supplies.
3. Trying to run the show for others: When I get caught up in your story, I step out of my own. Trying (notice the “trying”) to call your shots is a sure way to miss my own target. I can pray for you. I can offer you (hopefully by your request) my best advice–but I can’t live for you, and you can’t live for me. We are captains of our own ships, masters of our own souls (Invictus), and that is that. // The way out? Remember that A) It is impossible for me to live your life. I can only live mine, and B) Remember that most folks really don’t want to hear about solutions. They likely don’t even believe that solutions are possible. They only want to talk about their problems, to share the misery. To affirm how unfair life is. To spew out some venom. Why is that? Bitterness and fear are at the root. It’s a crucial subject and a whole other can of worms–it has to do with how to LIVE. Before we can make effectual change in our lives, we must confront the inner critic. We must deal with the voice that loves to tell us how awful we are, how bad we’ve got it, and how impossible our situation is. We must learn to LIVE
.
Say you can, or say you can’t–either way: you are right.
Life ain’t easy, my friends . . . but it is possible. It is possible, not just to survive, but to LIVE. It is possible to regain the excitement of a child, the faith of a child–but to do that, we need to become like children. We need to make peace with the hurtful past and move on to a better future. We need to be teachable . . . and we need to trust our Father.
May the Creator of us all bless and keep you this day and every day. May your Dreams come true.
Ingida Asfaw – Incredible Compassion
Dr. Ingida Asfaw says he is “only an instrument.”
Thank God for such instruments . . .
Thank you to David Frey for telling me about Dr. Asfaw.
Learning life’s lessons
Have you ever entered a period of time when it seemed as though just about everything you did or said was wrong?
A time when your energy is zapped, when your determination is tested, and you can’t open your mouth without someone being offended by what you say?
That’s been me, over the past few days. But today is the day it changes. I can feel it. The cloud is lifting and the Son is rising.
But the lessons, oh the lessons; they are gems. Here’s a few of them, pulled from my thoughts for the day on G+ ( by the way, if you still haven’t received a G+ invitation, let me know).
There is no need to rush, especially if there is a fire.
It turns out that “Why?” is a really good question–especially when posed to oneself. Ask. And ask again. The answer may surprise you.
Sometimes, just showing up and going through the motions is heroic. If you do what you know you should do–even when you don’t feel like doing it–sooner or later, the joy will return, the world will be right. . . and you will be glad you didn’t roll over when the going got tough. Don’t berate yourself; congratulate yourself. Be kind. Especially, to you.
Stay focused. Relaxed. The pilot will handle the turbulence.
And it all began with this–which could be what brought the whole thing on. The devil works through drama.
Personal target for the week: Find depth and the sweetness of companionship . . . in prayer.
Yours on the journey . . . Don