How much are you worth?  One expert said if you were to put a value on a human as compared to a high tech robot, the price would be $8 million!  According to Wikipedia, “When broken down into fluids, tissues and germ fighting our bodies are worth more than $45 million.”

Are you where you are because you are satisfied or have you just stopped trying to improve?  Are you dissatisfied with your performance at work but given up becoming more competitive?  Perhaps you feel your relationship is not nurturing.  You may be thinking, “I deserve a better home than where I live.”  Are you not functioning at your optimum potential with your studies and know you can do better?  By questioning your position, you have started the process toward improvement.  Once uncomfortable enough with where you are, you will not only think about it, but you will do something about it.  You will take action!  A new direction is sometimes tough because of the inertia, or getting started.  In training for a marathon, a 26.2 mile run, you start by running what seems like a short distance on the first session.  But you run this amount for a few times and then gradually increase your distance by a mile or two on other runs.  With consistency you eventually develop the endurance to finish the race.

Barney Zick, a successful business man and speaker, once said, “If you want more you ought to expect more.”  If you are not where you want to be, then start stepping in a direction to change it.  A new habit takes about three weeks to form so if you are pursuing a new behavior, stick with it, with the expectation of change.  Listen to what Margaret Thatcher said,

Watch your thoughts for they become words.

Watch your words for they become actions.

Watch your actions for they become habits.

Watch your habits for they become your character.

And watch your character for it becomes your destiny.

What we think, we become.

Focus your thoughts the way God intended for you (Phil 4:18).  It could affect your perceived worth.

 

 The Right Thoughts

Oh God, let my thoughts be aligned with my worth

My potential thrives on those to which I give birth

I want to touch others one deed at a time

With a fulfilled life and not wanting for a dime

I want to remain courageous to stick with rugged new habits

Even destroy the old me for blossom from miry pits

Of regret and shame – Oh I wish to longer be stuck

God, may this prayer be with your heart a chord struck

Have you ever stopped and watched faces of people very early in the morning?  Some look like they have just woken up, some like they never went to sleep, some seem to be saying “shoot me now” yet others appear bright and chipper.  We are not all morning people but what makes certain individuals function with a pleasant attitude while others a frown?  Everyone has rough patches, yet the expressions are so different.

In an online article entitled “15 Fascinating Facts about Smiling,” NursingSchools.net communicated that smiling is extremely beneficial for you.  Among other things, it improves your mood, boosts your immune system and helps relieves stress.  In addition, “babies start smiling as newborns.”  Smiling must be a fundamental part of life.  So, when you encounter that jerk on the road that makes you want to jump out of your car and ransack their face, smile and keep driving.  When your teenager starts getting on nerves you did not even know you had, smile before responding.  When you go on an interview, smile, because you seem more “attractive, sociable and confident.”  When your spouse committed an offense you specifically asked them not to do, smile and say, “I still love you.”  When your boss may have seemed unfair to you, smile before you approach him with your case.  And that unnerving employee, do not fire him quite yet, smile first.  In other words, practice smiling in difficult times and maybe life will seem happier amidst your challenges and setbacks.  A circumstance is only as grandiose or minuscule as you make it out to be because you choose the way you interpret it.  Why not improve your perspective and start with a smile?

 Light affects the world and the man who created the light bulb, Thomas Edison, seemingly failed a lot.  But his perspective on his setbacks was, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  Your dream could affect the world.  You can reach it with the help of God (Phil 4:13).

  

The Right Perspective

To Hamel’s address I once listened with intrigue to

An Air Force general, to whom my respect is due

He closed with crystal words that today still are not dead

“Never, never, never give up!” is what he really said

 

To have the right perspective you need not be introspective

For you can walk toward your dream with exterior directive

What you believe today ultimately affects your destiny

Trials now? Tomorrow you will say, “Brought out the best in me”

I had been hunting for a job since February 2008 and did not land anything permanent yet my sister landed a job within a week of graduation.  This caused me to stop and think.  What am I supposed to be doing?  Not working for someone else but owning my own business – yet another stark reminder to pursue what I really wanted.  I went on multiple interviews over the years and as recent as last week but had no call backs.  The message was clear and I just needed to believe in myself enough to get there.

That same sister pursued accounting and encountered such difficulty that she changed her major to something she was better suited to.  She realized what she wanted probably was not for her.  How long is it taking you to realize that the path you are heading is not the one for you?  Maybe you are pursuing a relationship that is sapping your ambition or sanity.  Or you are passing up opportunities to transition into a new field or environment but you do not want the hassle.  Although the transition period is scary the new habits become easier eventually.  Dr. Norman Doidge in his book The Brain That Changes Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph from the Frontiers of Brain Sciencespeaks about our minds being able to change because it is plastic.  You do not have to accept your circumstances or mind as unchangeable!  After you get pass the inertia you probably will be saying, “Why did it take me this long?”

Jesus would not have died on the cross if His father gave Him the option (Matthew 26:39).  But He realized that it was His calling to do so for our sins.  Your mission may not necessarily be easy and it may not be hard either.  You may not know what your purpose is yet, but if you found out what it is not, that is a step.  Start reading about other fields, listening to speakers, or going on tours of places you have not explored before.  Do not be afraid.  When Gideon was to fight the Midianites God eliminated 27,700 guys from his army and left him with only 300 (Judges 7:7).  He did not need as much people (stuff) as he thought he did.  You do not need that perfect time that you have been waiting for.  Unless you can hardly wait to start your day, you may not be operating in your calling.  Make a move today (Philipians 4:13).

 

Move in Your Calling

It matters not that the perfect time isn’t at hand

Or you perceive that your ambition isn’t in demand

You must move at once to fulfill your calling grand

 

Stuck maybe you feel by life, love or circumstance

Or you think you are well placed, surely not in a trance

Step once then step again for motion of a new dance

 

“Risky” or “Wrong timing” seems to restrict momentum

And daily love for life slips into oblivion and then some

But be courageous today, move anyway, be not a chum

Move boldly with faith and always take God with you

Seek him first and He’ll multiply efforts more than a few

Justin’s wife Sandra worked while he job hunted, for over two and half years.  One day, to show his appreciation for her, Justin decided to buy Sandra a smartphone.  “She deserves it,” he thought.  So he secretly researched and found one he knew she’d like.  He was so excited that instead of not saying anything until his presentation, he mentioned that he was expecting a package.  She became curious and started asking questions.  Fortunately he kept it a secret.

The next day Justin picked up the package, busted it opened and bagged the boxed phone in a gift bag.  When he got home he confined his beloved wife to one of their bedrooms while he wrote her a special note.  Anxiously, Sandra waited for his call, and even wanting a peak.  Minutes later, “Sweetheart you can come now,” Justin called and had her sit on the couch.  Ceremoniously he presented the decorated bag.  Sandra giggled as she read his note and was stunned when she removed the gift paper to find a smartphone, which incidentally she just recently was wishing she had.  Now beaming with delight, Sandra hopped to her feet to hug and thank Justin repeatedly.

Justin was thrilled she appreciated it so much but was a bit shocked.  Sandra was bringing in the money and could have treated herself to one.  Perhaps she understood the limitations of a tight budget but it also seemed like she didn’t think she deserved it.

No doubt you have been laboring on a job or in a particular role for a while.  And you deserve to be rewarded for your efforts or at least be recognized – certainly you deserve a treat.  If you are not getting any from others, treat yourself!  Take yourself out for dinner or buy an ice cream cone.  It’s amazing that little joys in our lives add spice and dampens the seeming drab of incessant work or monotonous activity.  You should prosper and be healthy (3 John 1:2).  Do you know that exercising can add about four years to your life and improves your feeling of well-being?  Call a longtime friend because chances are he or she still thinks you’re cool (Prov 17:17).  Even giving to someone less fortunate, whether with your time or resources, can help improve your spirit.  If you enjoy your earnings without guilt, that is a blessing (Ecc 5:19).  Never forget to give God thanks for His kindness to you because He deserves it!

 

Your Treat

Daily we toil to eat and be recognized for excellence

Till mind and soul is burnt beyond reason, in essence

Guard your well-being with the sweet of a cone

Or a chat with a long lost friend on the phone

Revive your being with a vigorous workout, don’t hesitate

And your heart with a gift, your time, to some less-fortunate

Then in all you do, strive to consistently ring true

Gratitude to Him who keeps on blessing you