In his daily devotional “My Utmost for His Highest” Oswald Chambers writes…
“We always have visions, before a thing is made real.”
Stephen R. Covey, in his multi-million copy selling book, “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” set his oft quoted maxim as, “You have to start with the end in mind.” He was talking about death, and how you would like your funeral to look and be attended… but it also applies to individual life goals.
And every carpenter that ever built a house had a set of plans set before him, before he even starts to order building supplies or call the drywall hangers.
Why are there so many men, from my personal experience, that hate their job?
That fight with their significant other, constantly?
That walk around in the world in such a sour mood that it would be hard to picture them, say, outside of work, as having any type of joy in their life… being fulfilled in any way… or just being nice to people.
You know those guys. Would you have enough confidence in them to ask them to help you out with a project, or invite them over for a BBQ?
Are you one of those guys?
If you said, “No”, run through your mind how your last shift at work went. Run through the exact words you used from the time you punched in to the time you punched out.
Let’s be honest. We have all been that guy at some point.
And why were we so angry at that time? Why did we absolutely hate… where we found ourselves at that time?
We lacked a VISION for ourselves earlier in life, and so instead of striding forward confidently toward a clear goal in life, we ended up taking what was available at the time, maybe clinging to a recessed thought that as we got older we’d somehow figure our life out.
An older gentleman that I know who has been at the same place of employment for just over four decades is fond of saying, “If you’re here five years you’re a lifer.”
It seems to hold a bit more than a little water.
How then can we make an assessment of our current life situation, our current mental attitude, and our current place in the world?
For me it happened in the spiritual component of my life, when the Lord made it absolutely clear to me that HE was in my life, and as He put it, “I AM”.
In Isaiah ch. 35 you will read, “Be strong, do not fear; your God will come… Then will the eye’s of the blind be opened…”
We all need our eyes opened.
I recently completed my book signing event for my latest book, Gods Word Mechanically Speaking to Men, that small event came from the fact that “authors” hold book signings.
After having what I considered, a successful signing, I have been able to envision the next one, a little easier, a little clearer, now knowing some specifics I need to change or tweak, to make them a little nicer for my “guests”.
Here is the morsel you have been looking for, a piece of wisdom that I picked up in my own endeavor to EMERGE as a better man.
It comes in the word… believe.
How do you perceive that word?
It is one of the first, and highest, hurdles to a life change you will run into.
You might be thinking, “I don’t believe. I don’t believe in God. I don’t believe I can change my circumstances. I don’t even believe in the word believe.”
Ah. But you do.
You believed the factory was your only option.
You believe your situation is hopeless.
You believe nothing is ever going to change.
If you can get yourself to the point where you can identify that you do… believe… on some level, THEN… you can set to the work of getting a clarified vision for your life.
One with hope. One with anticipation. One with coming to grips with the built in struggles that life in general is embedded with.
For example. As I prepare to answer an interview question, “How would you describe your writing?”
I came up with this, rough working definition… to answer that question… as I envision the interview unfolding…
“My writing is autobiographical help yourself books, written to ENCOURAGE, EQUIP & ENGAGE, and my writing approach is… Positivity With Work Gloves!”
Gentleman (and ladies) have a seat, get your notebook out, be honest with yourself and write down those things you “hate” about your current life placement, be honest again with yourself and determine if you really want to change those things… truly… change.
You do?
Grab some gloves.
theemergingman.com 