New Years Resolutions: Do You Have the Desire to Change?
- Keith Haney
- Dec 29, 2017
- 3 min read
“Some people will change when they see the light. Others change only when they feel the heat.” Unknown.
When I hear the word change I break into a cold sweat; my heart begins to race, and my anxiety level hits code red. Nothing inside of me has any desire to do anything differently than what I am comfortable undertaking. Change implies that whatever I am doing now needs to go through a radical redirect. What part of that sounds like fun? I like consistency; I love the status quo. The status quo is comfortable. It is familiar. The status quo is maybe outdated. Possibly no longer relevant, and may not even be working but to be honest, I am ok with that. Change is scary. Change is unpredictable. Change is often painful. Change requires lots of work. Why do you think I look more like Kung Fu Panda than Terry Crews?
This series on change will lay out for you a simple, three-step process needed to make a change in your life. To be honest the steps are simple the change is not. So here we go.
To change you need to have to answer three fundamental questions. Over the course of the next month, this series I pray will empower you to make whatever change God is placing on your heart.
Do you have the desire to change?
About two years ago I went in for my regular health check-up. The doctor runs the blood work, and usually, the numbers were somewhere in normal range. Not this year. The numbers came back that I was a Type-2 Diabetic. That hit me like a ton of bricks. I knew that life would never be the same. I know people who have lost limbs and died horribly from this disease. I was devastated. I told my wife the results and God bless her she went into research mode. And she discovered that there was a way to treat this without medication, but here is the kicker it would require a radical lifestyle change. I went back to the doctor armed with this new found knowledge. He said, “Yes this is a possible solution, but you would need a ‘Biggest Loser’ type lifestyle change. Nothing in your past says that is possible.” Wow, what a kick in the gut. One thing my doctor didn’t know about me was I thrive, even excel, when people tell me it is impossible.
I now had the desire to change. I went into deep change mode. Changed my eating habits and found some friends to compete with for weight loss. One of my top strengths is competition. And through the power of God working through my beautiful wife and great friends. I lost 75 pounds and got numbers in range. When I went back for a follow-up with my doctor, he said, “not only are your numbers lower but you are not at pre-diabetic levels,” they were somewhere in normal range.
Diabetes was a negative motivator. But there can also be positive reasons that will motivate you to change. You could find something in life that speaks to your soul in such a way that you would make the tough choices necessary to make that dream a reality.
Don’t be this guy when it comes to change.
Openness is essentially the willingness to grow, a distaste for ruts, eagerly standing on tiptoe for a better view of what tomorrow brings.
A man once bought a new radio, brought it home, placed it on the refrigerator, plugged it in, turned it to WSM in Nashville (home of the Grand Ole Opry), and then pulled all the knobs off! He had already tuned in all he ever wanted or expected to hear. Some marriages are “rutted” and rather dreary because either or both partners have yielded to the rutted” and rather gloomy because either or both partners have to change.” Homemade
Whatever direction you choose, realize that there are moments in time that you will need to make a change. You need to find that inner strength to make those changes. My inner strength is grounded on my faith in the might and power of God. The changes I need to make in life are far beyond my ability and power, but nothing is impossible for my God. He had the capacity to turn a heart from Him to one wholly committed to Him.
Other posts in the series:
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