Two friends of mine told me about training their team with these three words, (Attitude, effort & sportsmanship were there 3 words). Mine is attitude, effort & discipline. The beauty in these 3 things are that God gives you the power to control them all, no matter the circumstance. When you focus on these 3 things every single day of your life, you transform & your life transforms.
The questions that follow are: What type of attitude? What type of effort? What disciplines?
Attitude
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)
This verse tells you what kind of attitude we must have. An attitude of faith. I rely on God, not my own understanding. I rely on God, not my current feelings. My confidence is not in what I have or what I do, but in what God says.
We have a variety of characteristics & attributes that lead to our success & improves the quality of our lives. Intelligence, wisdom, discernment, certain habits & rituals that support our success. However, we cannot rely on those things alone. Those things are simply tools, that God has blessed and allowed us to use.
You are not successful because of your schedule, organizational or managerial skills; they certainly contribute to your success. However, you will be successful because of your faith & trust in the lord. You don’t trust your systems, habits & rituals; you trust the one who reveals & provides all of these systems, rituals, thoughts, habits and guidance to you; which is God.
Your attitude is open, positive, receptive to instructions, feedback, changes, & opportunities, trusting that everything is working in your favor. That’s the attitude that will lead to your success.
"Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." (Romans 12:2)
Romans 12:2, reminds us that we don’t need to follow others, or what they do. We simply have to follow God. Follow his instructions. Listen to his guidance. Have a spirit of excellence. An open attitude. An attitude that takes ownership, an attitude that loves & encourages yourself & others. An attitude that serves and is giving.
An attitude that reminds you why you’re doing your work, and it’s simply to praise & please God. You don’t work for others, you don’t work for approval, validation, nor for yourself, your ego or your self-worth. You work for God. Everything you do, you do for him. You work with an attitude of love, faith, courage & you honor God with your work. This kind of work requires one thing, effort.
Effort
Effort means to try. To hold yourself accountable even when you don’t feel like it. I can’t control what the circumstances are, I can’t control what happens & when, but I can control my effort towards it. God gives you so much power within your effort. He simply asks for to make an effort.
“Standards Over Feelings” is a line to repeat. My feelings don’t dictate my effort, my standards do. My circumstances don’t dictate my effort, my values do. I value doing my best and striving to do my best work and making the most of the opportunity to serve God. This requires effort, this requires an open, willing, committed & determined attitude. “The way you do anything is the way you do everything”.
My effort is important, and I use my attitude to reinforce my effort. I used my attitude to remind me of my standards & values in order to fuel my efforts. Many people can do things once. Many people can perform at a high level for a short period of time. Many people can put effort in once when they feel like it. Which one of us can do so consistently over time? How can we perform at a high level on a consistent basis, what does it take? Discipline.
Discipline
Throughout the whole bible, god talks to us about discipline. One of the most important things God wants to teach you in this life, is discipline. He wants us to know that with discipline we can accomplish everything we desire & better yet, everything he desires for us. God is looking to teach us that our habits matter. All of them. Your attitude, your mindset, your prayer life, your physical habits.
Better yet, God is telling us that he needs you to be discipline to fulfil your purpose for him in this life. You can’t fulfil your purpose or hear his will for your life without discipline.
My wife always says, “not doing it is a habit too”. Whatever you are doing, you are ingraining in your heart, in your mind, in your daily rituals. Do these habits support your desires, goals, aspirations? Do these habits support God’s desire for your life? That’s one of the most powerful questions you can ask yourself.
What must you do? You have to discipline yourself & your life. Discipline first shows 3 things, 1- you respect God. 2- You respect yourself, and 3- you respect others. What do your disciplines say about you?
The bible states, “If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land.” (Isiah 1:19). This means, if you’re willing to listen, take instruction & discipline yourself to execute these orders on a regular basis, you will be blessed with the best there is available from the Earth. This is God’s work & promise to you.
The Bible also tells you, “Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored.” (Proverbs 1:13). What does this mean? This means, an undisciplined person, and unwilling spirit and attitude attracts poverity & disgrace. Meaning you can never be spiritually wealthy & healthy without obedience, discipline & consistency. “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls” (Proverbs 25:28). Without structure there is not much you can hold. Without walls, you don’t have a home, you are exposed and vulnerable to everything in life. Discipline, gives you walls, structure, opportunity to secure, opportunity to produce and grow. Discipline gives you freedom.
In life, there are so many things we cannot control & we cannot predict. However, God blessed us with 3 things we will always be able to control. Attitude, effort & discipline. These 3 things are major keys. These 3 things will take you far in life. When you apply the right kind of attitude, the right kind of effort & the right kind of discipline, you live the kind of life God wanted you to live.
I hope you take these words today, tomorrow, next week when you find yourself wanting to not doing something, or when you find yourself wanting to do or say something that you know would hurt someone, or doesn’t bring life or joy to someone, I Hope you remember that God gave you his spirit of excellence & he asks you to apply & show that through your attitude, effort & discipline.
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