“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7 NJKV)
“Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.” (Proverbs 4:23 ESV)
“Therefore I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies [dedicating all of yourselves, set apart] as a living sacrifice, holy and well-pleasing to God, which is your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship. And do not be conformed to this world [any longer with its superficial values and customs], but be transformed and progressively changed [as you mature spiritually] by the renewing of your mind [focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His plan and purpose for you].” (Romans 12:1-2 AMP)
So there I was. Only 30 minutes and I was ready to leave the club and never return. Everything that I tried was harder than I had expected and more frustrating than I had ever imagined. Over the years I had developed an inner image of myself as a gifted man that would never succeed in using his gifts and talents. Subconsciously I expected to fail. So, once again, I was ready to give up and walk away. Then it happened.
The Lord sent a 93 year old woman to me in order to keep me from once again taking the easy way out. She had been watching me struggle and knew that without an encouraging word I would most likely not return tomorrow. She left her treadmill and walked across the club to talk to me before I left. She started by asking, “This is a lot harder than it looks isn’t it?” I muttered, “Yup.” Then she asked, “Coming back tomorrow?” I replied, “Probably not.” Then she helped me to begin recovering from my broken spirit by saying, “I wanted to quit more times than I can tell you. When I started doing this everything was new to me, and twice as hard as I had expected it to be. I had to drag myself in here on more than one occasion, but now look at me. I am 93 years old, and still coming in every day.” Then she asked me the following questions that were just what I needed, “How many reps were you able to do on the equipment?” I embarrassedly answered, “One.” “How many did you do yesterday?” “None.” With a smile she said, “Wow, that is great improvement!” Then she asked, “How long were you on the treadmill?” I sheepishly responded, “5 minutes.” She continued to ask, “How long yesterday?” I was beginning to catch on, “Zero.” With enthusiasm she responded, “That is remarkable improvement!” Then she asked me again, “Coming back tomorrow?” I hesitated and then answered, “I guess I had better.” To which she responded, “See you tomorrow.” And with that she walked back to her treadmill.
That night as I was wrestling with my decision to return the Lord helped me to see that I had walked into that club with high expectations on the surface level, but down inside I fully expected to repeat history and fail. When faced with the challenge of overcoming the difficulties of my first day, rather than go to battle I was ready to follow my subconscious expectation of failure and simply quit.
More than ever, I am convinced that what we think, and believe, way down inside, is what ultimately dictates how we speak and act on the outside. That is why I am discussing…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 302: Built-In Expectations: The Power of the Sub-Conscious Mind – Part 2