Everyone wants to change, make themselves better, healthier, smarter, achieve more, et cetera, but few actually accomplish it. For many people, years pass and regrets build. Failure and unhappiness creep in and soon you are met with a crisis. But you can avoid these struggles! Take faith and know God has great plans for you. Here is a list of principles that will help you effect the change you want to see in your life.
1. Faith: Take Faith that God has a plan for you and that you are able to do great things in Him. If you do not believe God can work through you—all is impossible. Faith for a good future, good life, great purpose, healing, and all the other promises God has for us is the most important principle you can start with. So how do we get faith? You don’t pray for faith. That is unscriptural. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. Build yourself up in the Word, and let it soak into every fiber of your being. Stop with the cliche traditions and empty words of ignorance. Truly know Him and the power in His Word. — Romans 10:17
2. Focus on less. In the digital era we now all live, it is tough to not multitask and drain our singular focus. It is possible to do lots of things, but the more you do, the less you are effective at any one thing. Think about the great artist Michelangelo. Michelangelo created some of the most memorable pieces of art in the world. He lived and breathed his art and focused on it exclusively. He refined his craft and mastered it. Like wise, The Apostle Paul lived and breathed his missionary life and focused on it every moment. He achieved his calling, and his example stands the test of time. When a passion/calling becomes your exclusive focus, you will see great things happen. Unfortunately, other things are vying for your focus. You might not realize it, but they are. Think about it for a moment, what do you spend time on each day, week, and month? Will those things produce the purpose God created you for? If your focus is divided and you habitually give yourself to fruitless endeavors—you will never achieve your calling.—Philippians 3:13-14
3. Judging Others: This is a very common misstep among all people. Judging others is simply a psychological security blanket to make the person who is judging feel better about their own shortcomings. No one is perfect. Why waste time pointing out someone elses problems when you have your own life to live?—1 Corinthians 4:5
4. Avoid Negative Influence: Negativity is a virus. A disease. It can take root in one’s mind and destroy everything. It is the anti-type of faith. Avoid negative influences and people who constantly pour it out. If you are besieged with negative thoughts, look at what you are surrounded by; find the problem and change it.—Philippians 4:8
5. One Step at a Time: People fail all the time at changing their lives. If you think just because you made a decision to do something, and then it will happen on its own—sorry, you will be very disappointed. Change is a process. For example, people who make a decision to get healthy for the new year have good motives and want to change, but they are thwarted by the process. They want to be healthy, but the desire is killed when they are faced with having to: drive to the gym, change, workout and then drive back home. So, the desire to better oneself is evident, but the process is where the mind resists. We also see this over and over for prospective missionaries who want to enter the field. The desire to serve in missions is evident, but they fail in the process — planning a journey, buying plane tickets, making contacts, raising support, et cetera. If you want to achieve change, you must first face the process. Learn to love the process, and it will become a habit. Once your habit is in place, then the change won’t be far behind.—Isaiah 28:10