Category: Think About It

Have you been to a funeral lately? If you have, I’m sure you’ve listened to various people give a tribute to the person who has passed away – stories that give you an insight into who the person was and the kind of impact they had on the people in their world.

Take a moment to imagine your own funeral. I know it s a bit of a morbid thought … but it’s worth doing.

Imagine that four people are going to give a tribute about your life and the impact you had on them … a friend, family member, a work or school associate, and someone from your local community or church family.

What would you want them to say? Who you want to be remembered for? What kind of a legacy do you want to leave in the hearts and minds of the people around you? Give this some serious thought and consideration.

For that vision to become a reality you need to begin living today with that end in mind. It won’t just happen. It will be the result of you intentionally living your life each day as the kind of person you truly want to be.

Legacy – think about it.

All of us experience adversity in one form or another on a regular basis. We respond to adversity by thinking about it. Those thoughts rapidly form beliefs and these beliefs have consequences – in how we feel and what we do next.

A simple example: Your best friend hasn’t returned your phone calls. In response you think … “They don’t like me anymore; maybe I did something to offend them.” As a result you are fairly depressed all day and you don’t get much work done

Or imagine the same event … but this time in response you think … “They’re probably flat out and haven’t had a chance to call back.” As a result you feel fine and you have a productive day.

Can you see that the adversity is not the issue – it is what you believe about it that matters most!

We need to tune in on the internal dialogue that takes place in our minds. We need to dispute our beliefs and ensure that they are in line with reality. After all, our beliefs have a strong and direct influence on how we feel and the actions we take.

Beliefs – think about it.

 

We live in a world where the pursuit of happiness is most people’s highest endeavour. Everyone wants to feel good, to have positive emotions, and to avoid negative ones.

 Studies on the subject of happiness have found that:

1. Most people have a set range of happiness that they will return to even after good or bad things happen to them.
2. Most external circumstances don’t have a long-lasting impact on personal happiness – including matters such as money, marriage, health, or education.

What makes the biggest difference in an individual’s level of happiness is a number of voluntary actions that they can take … including …

1. Gratitude – being thankful for the people and things in your life
2. Forgiveness – learning to let go and release the hurts and regrets of the past.
3. Serving – doing something for the benefit of another person
4. Hope – having a future that excites you and is worth looking forward to

How is your happiness level? Are you waiting for someone or something to make you happy? It’s probably not going to happen. You are probably about as happy as you ever will be … unless you take some actions to change it.

Happiness – think about it.

Problems – no one likes them but the truth is that everyone has them. I use to think that the aim in life was to have no problems at all … but then I discovered that as soon as I solved one set of problems, some new ones would arrive on my doorstep. After a while I came to accept that problems are part of life. The crucial thing is not avoid them or to ignore them but to face them head on – with courage and wisdom.

Often when problems arise we tend to immediately focus on why they have happened or who caused them. These are important issues but they can easily get us caught up in the blame game or a victim mentality. A better way is to get on the solution side by saying, “Okay, we have this problem – what are we going to do about it? Focus your primary energy on solving the problem – for everyone’s benefit.

The issue in life is not whether you have problems or not but what you are doing about them. Problems can destroy us if we let them or they can be stepping stones to help us become stronger and better people.

Problems – think about it.

Today we all live in fairly turbulent times. There is a lot of uncertainty and that can bring all sorts of fears and worries into our life if we aren’t careful.

One of things you’ll discover in life is that you can’t always be certain but you can be clear. Uncertainty is a permanent part of our lives. It never goes away. We all have to at times make decisions with limited information. So our goal should not be to eliminate uncertainty. Instead, it should be to ensure we develop the art of clarity.

On a sports team, can you be certain of the outcome of the game. Of course not, but you can be clear about what you are trying to achieve.

In business, can you be certain of the economic environment over the next year. Of course not, but you can be clear about the service or product you have to offer and who your market is.

In life, can you be certain about your future? Of course not, but you can be clear – about who you are, what is important to you, and what you are going to give your life to pursue.

Clarity – think about it.

I have been privileged to have traveled to a number of other nations now and every time I enter a country I have to go through customs or ‘border control’. Before they let you in, they want to know lots of things such as: who you are, why you are visiting, how long you are staying, and what you are bringing in with you.

I have often thought what it would be like to have such good border control for our mind and our inner world. After all, our life is shaped by our thoughts. Every day we have all sorts of thoughts trying to get into our mind. They come from everywhere. Like birds flying over our head we can’t stop them – but we can stop them making a nest in our hair!

Thoughts are very powerful, as are images. Think about what you let into your mind. Get a good border control in place. Take every thought captive and check it out before you let it in. Ask some key questions: Is this true? Is it beneficial? Or is it dangerous?

Remember: what you feed grows and what you starve dies.

Border control – think about it.

 An understanding of perspective is one of the keys to gaining wisdom for life. Here is a simple illustration that shows the importance of perspective …

Imagine a group of people sitting in a circle with a small table in the middle. A few observations …

1. Firstly, everyone sees the table differently, depending on where they are sitting. No one sees it exactly the same.

2. Secondly, no one sees the table accurately. There are parts of the table that each person does not see. No one person has the full perspective, no matter who they are (except for God!). If any individual thinks that they have the complete perspective all by themselves, then they are nothing short of ignorant … and proud.

3. Thirdly, the only way to get an accurate picture of the table is to combine everyone's perspective. We must listen to those who see differently from us to learn about what we cannot see.

Take the table out of the middle of the circle and replace it with anything else – an issue, a decision needing to be made, a conflict … whatever. The lessons are still the same. We need other people's perspective to add to our own in order to gain wisdom for life.

How's your perspective?

Perspective … Think about it.

To be highly effective in our work and to also enjoy life to the fullest we need to manage our energy, not just our time. Research reveals that energy, not time, is the most important component of personal effectiveness.

Let me give you an example: If you’re scheduled to have open heart surgery, obviously you’d want your doctor turning up on time. But what kind of mood would you want him or her in – angry, depressed, tired, nervous? Of course not! You’d want them to be awake, confident and fully engaged in what they’re about to do to you! You don’t just want their time … you want the best of their energy!

How’s is your energy level right now? Are you fully engaged in what you are doing each day? Or are you just ‘turning up’?

The key to being ‘fully engaged’ when we need to be is to ensure that we are managing our energy well. You do that by creating a balance between activity and rest in your life … of energy expenditure and energy renewal. If we’re giving out all the time without taking time to disengage and renew your energy, then you’re headed for an energy crisis.

Energy … Think about it. 

Recent research tells us that a lot of Australians are experiencing a great deal of stress in their life. Life is getting more complex, the pressures are increasing, the pace is getting faster, and a lot of people are struggling to cope.

One of the keys to good stress management is learning to keep our “internal stress” as low as possible so that we have the capacity to cope with the inevitable “external stress” that will come our way.

 

Internal stress is the stress we carry on the inside of us and it usually comes from three things:

1. Unrealistic expectations (about God, ourselves or others).
2. Destructive attitudes
3. Unresolved relational issues

Have you ever seen someone have something very small happen to them and they just lost it. What was going on? The thing that happened to them wasn’t the issue. It was most likely the fact that they were already carrying a bunch of internal stress and this extra thing pushed them over the edge.

 

Adjust your expectations to be more in line with reality.

Deal with negative emotions quickly.

Resolve your interpersonal conflicts.

 

By doing so, you can reduce your level of internal stress significantly, placing you in a position to be able to cope much better with the inevitable stresses of life.

 

Internal Stress … Think about it.

Developing and maintaining a good attitude in life is vital. However it’s not always easy!

 

One huge misconception about attitudes is that if you have a good attitude you will never feel bad or get upset. How untrue! People with great attitudes experience all the same sorts of negative emotions that other people do, they just work through them constructively and refuse to allow these emotions to hinder their outlook on life.

 

Everyone has times when they feel angry, resentful, worried, afraid, anxious, jealous, and maybe even depressed. The difference between people is how they choose to handle these negative and potentially destructive emotions.

 

Have you ever been shopping and had to use a shopping cart that had one wheel not working? Isn’t it stressful to have to push that thing while it is squeaking and squealing every step of the way? What an energy drain! Yet, that is exactly what it is like when one negative emotion seizes up our inner world. It drains us spiritually, emotionally and physically. That’s why it is so important to deal with negative emotions as quickly as possible so we can live with complete freedom.

 

It’s your choice!

 

Attitude …. Think about it.

When I was much younger I had a significant leader give me some feedback. He started out by encouraging me about my potential and my future. Then he said, “Mark, there’s a few things you need to work on. Firstly, you need to smile more. You’ve very tall and that can be quite intimidating for people. Begin to smile more regularly." Then he shared a few other things that we don’t have time to talk about today.

I must admit, at first I was a bit annoyed. “Smile … come on, I’m smiling on the inside!” But then I realised he was right. So I began smiling more. I’d drive down the road and just put a big smile on my face. I’d get into an elevator and I’d smile.

A smile really does make a difference to the atmosphere around you. It warms things up and it tends to draw people to you rather than away from you. You know we don’t really know what Jesus looked like because we don't have a picture or video of him. However, it tells me something about Jesus when the Gospels tell us that children ran up to him. What kind of people do children run towards? Not grumpy people, that’s for sure! I’m sure Jesus had a smile on his face and an enthusiasm about life that was contagious.

Smile … Think about it.

Today we are living in a global village. Yes, it’s a big world but we’re all connected in so many ways like at no other time in our history.

Here is Australia we have our own challenges but we really are still a ‘lucky country’. We’ve been blessed in so many ways and it’s easy to forget that many billions of people in our world live on just a few dollars a day.

 

Some of the global issues we are facing are huge – things such as poverty, disease, war, and famine, just to name a few. These challenges are so huge that we can be overwhelmed by them. Yet each one of us can make a difference.

 

Here are a few things that you might consider doing:

 

1. Sponsor a child in a needy country. Check out Compassion or World Vision for starters. 
2. Make a financial donation to a reputable world relief agency.
3. Take a trip to another needy nation and do some ‘hands on’ humanitarian work.
4. Pray – after all, God cares about the poor and needy.

Jesus told us to love God with all of our heart and to love our neighbour as ourselves. In our global village, our neighbour is the person next door but also those around the world.

 

We can’t do everything but each one of us can do something.

 

Global Issues … Think about it.

Have you ever noticed that bad things sometimes happen to good people? It’s one of those contradictions in our world. It doesn’t always make sense.

 

Think about Job, a man who lived back in Bible times. He had a whole bunch of bad stuff happen to him … even though he was a good man who lived a good life. His friends started out by just being a comfort to him, which was good, but then they tried to figure out ‘why’ all of this bad stuff was happening. They thought it might be because Job had done something wrong and they ended up being a source of further pain for Job rather than a comfort.

 

When people go through difficult times, they need our care, our concern, and our comfort. They don’t need our great insights on the complexities of life.

 

Thankfully, God is a God of comfort. He understands our suffering. In fact, he has suffered himself and he is able to help us through our times of difficulty. Let’s partner with God and be a comfort to those around us going through difficult times.

 

Comfort … think about it.

Take a moment to think about the people who have had the greatest positive influence on your life. I’m sure there’s at least one or two you can think of. Then ask yourself what it was about them that caused them to impact you so much. Summarise it in a few words.

 

I’m sure you’ll discover that it was the character of their life that made the biggest impression on you, not so much their talents, their gifts or their abilities. It is things like love, faithfulness, enthusiasm, passion, persistence, and integrity that influence us.

 

This shows us that our greatest influence in life will be who we are (our life) not just what we say or do.

Right now, you are influencing people around you. What kind of influence is it? Is it positive or negative?

 

You are being watched … so think about the example you are giving. Make a decision to live a life worth following. Be an example to others.

 

Example … think about it.

If you are a parent, have you ever taken your child to McDonalds, bought them a meal, and then suddenly felt a little hungry yourself? You reach over and ask for a few of their fries and they respond by quickly pulling their fries away from you and saying “No!”

 

How do you feel in that moment?

I start to think … “Do you know where those fries came from? I paid for those fries!”

 

Then I think … “I don’t need your fries anyway. I’ve got enough money to buy all the fries I want!!”

 

And … “I can make sure you never have any fries again as long as you live under my roof!!”

 

Now I THINK those things … I don’t SAY them!

 

I wonder if that’s how God feels sometimes when we’re a little on the stingy side and we don’t adopt a generous attitude towards life and our possessions?

 

After all, he’s the 'fry-maker'! Everything we have comes from him … and he can stop stuff coming … or he can keep it coming. Don't be tight-fisted. Why not choose to be a little more generous today.

 

Generosity … think about it!