The other half of the battle

I read a scripture the other night that is slowly changing my life.  It read:  Be careful how you think, because your thoughts set the boundaries for your life.  It stood out to me that the passage read, "Be careful HOW you think."  I realized that "how you think" is very different from "what you think."  The word "how" focuses more on the way you think, what is behind your thoughts, why you think the way you do.  Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks.  I have been my own stumbling block because of the way that I think.  I've come up with reasons why certain things can't be done.  Therefore, I am the reason why my life looks the way it does.  Nobody and nothing else can be blamed for it.

Now, I'm a very imaginative person.  I've always imagined my life looking totally different.  Things are not so bad now, but they could be better.  First, I must sit down and examine exactly which things I want to change.  Second, I've got to figure out what my thoughts have been regarding these issues.  Then, at last, I must change the way that I think about them.  I sort of envision myself undergoing a total makeover.  When I emerge, I'll look like someone totally new.  I won't even sound like the same person.  Certainly, if I my train of thought changes, you'll hear a new viewpoint and a different voice.  So, I'll actually begin thinking like the Daphne that I imagine myself being.  Hence, the question becomes: What does the Daphne (that I'd like to become) think about this?  How would she handle this issue?

Fear of failure has been an issue that I've battled with too.  I would venture to say that everyone has dealt with it in one regard or another.  I think that the main reason why this fear has held me back so long is because I've always viewed failure as a setback.  However, when I think about it, faulure can actually propel you forward.  It just may not happen the way that I'd like it to happen or the way that I think it should happen.  Fear of failure and the uncertainty of the outcome have worked hand in hand in holding me back from achieving what I want.  Well, if knowing is half the battle, it's now time to get started on the other half.

                                                                                                        -Daphne-