Wednesday, December 28, 2011

The Steps To Success


Year 2011 is quickly fading now, and 2012 is almost just around the corner! It is time to leave behind the past, and have a sense of "starting a new beginning" in whatever endeavor you might be in. This might not necessarily mean stopping from accomplishing the great works you have already started, but rather have a fresh new sets of motivation and inspiration to continue on your pursuit.

On this very early morning, it was a blessing to ponder on God's Word.
Don't you know that the Bible has everything you need to prepare you for the upcoming new year?

Let me share you some tips and guidelines from the Bible that would surely help you have that sense of accomplishment, and of course, success in whatever you do!

Four Steps to Success

(1) "I'm not going to worry about that."
Ask yourself, can worry really help you accomplish things? Absolutely not! In fact, worrying is bad for your health!

Here's a proof!
Is worrying bad for your heart? A prospective study of worry and coronary heart disease in the Normative Aging Study.

Abstract
BACKGROUND:

Worry is an important component of anxiety, which recent work suggests is related to increased incidence of coronary heart disease (CHD). Chronic worry has also been associated with decreased heart rate variability. We hypothesized that high levels of worry may increase CHD risk.

METHOD AND RESULTS:
We examined prospectively the relationship of worry with CHD incidence in the Normative Aging Study, an ongoing cohort of older men. In 1975, 1759 men free of diagnosed CHD completed a Worries Scale, indicating the extent to which they worried about each of five worry domains: social conditions, health, financial, self-definition, and aging. During 20 years of follow-up, 323 cases of incident CHD occurred: 113 cases of nonfatal myocardial infarction (MI); 86 cases of fatal CHD; and 124 cases of angina pectoris. Worry about social conditions was the domain most strongly associated with incident CHD. Compared with men reporting the lowest levels of social conditions worry, men reporting the highest levels had multivariate adjusted relative risks of 2.41 (95% CI, 1.40 to 4.13) for nonfatal MI and 1.48 (95% CI, 0.99 to 2.20) for total CHD (nonfatal MI and fatal CHD). A dose-response relation was found between level of worry and both nonfatal MI (P for trend, .002) and total CHD (P for trend, .04).

CONCLUSIONS:
These results suggest that high levels of worry in specific domains may increase the risk of CHD in older men.

Article Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9054737
And the Bible's remedy for that?
"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:4-7
Notice one thing, the Bible does not just give the remedy, but the also the benefit - the peace that will guide your heart and your mind! The truth is, God knows you and your circumstances. He knows your needs, He understands your feelings, and your future is already on His hands. Why carry the weight of the world on your shoulders, when you can entrust these burdens to God?

(2) "I'm not going to try to figure that out."
This does not mean that you would just sit comfortably on your sofa, and sleep the whole day lazily because you know you have a God! This is a grave misunderstanding of the phrase "Don't worry, God knows what you need and He will help you." Remember, God hates the lazy!

I went by the field of the lazy man,
And by the vineyard of the man devoid of understanding;
And there it was, all overgrown with thorns;
Its surface was covered with nettles;
Its stone wall was broken down.
When I saw it, I considered it well;
I looked on it and received instruction:

A little sleep, a little slumber,
A little folding of the hands to rest;
So shall your poverty come like a prowler,
And your need like an armed man.
~Proverbs 24:30-34
 What this means is that before you start in whatever plans you have, consult it to God first. The truth is, God's ways are far better than ours!

For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.
~Isaiah 55:8-9
 (3) "I'm not going to try to make something happen."
Again, this does not mean being lazy! Quoting J. M Farro in the book "Life on Purpose for Men":

"But we'd be wise to remember that getting ahead of God and trying to make our own way can not only delay our blessings, but keep us from receiving God's best. The fact is that we are more likely to make mistakes when we fail to wait on God, than when we fail to move on His cue."
 Isaiah 30:18 says:
Therefore the LORD will wait, that He may be gracious to you;
And therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
Blessed are all those who wait for Him.
(4) "I'm going to trust God." 
This is the most important step amongst the four. If we're trusting God, we would not worry about anything else. If we're trusting God, we would consult God first before you make your decisions. And if we're trusting God, we're going to wait for God's perfect time!

Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths. 
~Proverbs 3:5-6

May you ponder on these things today, my friend.

 © 2011 Erickson Ibana

Friday, December 23, 2011

Mixed Emotions On a Christmas Season



As I remember it right, it was also on a December. It was one cool December night, just a few days more before the year 2000. There I was, a 14-year-old boy lying on my bed, so quiet and so still. Back then, it seemed to me that the night was so peaceful and so calm.

Reminiscing, I was surprised to remember that even as young as 14, thoughts of the future had troubled my heart so much at that time. Vaguely in my memory, I remember I was crying my heart out at that night for the fear of the coming "Millennium Bug". This train of thoughts haunted me that night:
  • What if ALL of the computers shutdown because of the "Y2K" or "Millennium Bug", then ALL computer systems (including airport system, factories, malls, etc.) will shutdown too...
  • What if businesses shutdown, then life will be so miserable...
  • What if life becomes so miserable, then my life will be ended so early...
  • What if my life ends abruptly, then I will not be able to meet my future wife...
  • What if I and my wife will not meet, then we will not have children...
  • What if we won't have any child, then those happy moments having picnics on the park will not happen...
In the midst of the calmness of the night, I remember crying so bitterly that I couldn't remember if my "silent cry" had not become silent at all... (I don't normally cry loud though.)


I remember saying this prayer amidst my cry, "Lord, please allow me to live after this Y2K thing..."


It is now December 23, on the year 2011, almost 11 years have past. Looking back, I now remember those happy times of growing up with my supportive family, and even memories of my "childhood crushes" have been bombarding me too! Along with those great and enjoyable memories, I also remember those ugly decisions that I made, people that I might have hurt because of my insensitivity, and those things I have done of which I am not proud of...


Above all these mixed emotions, a feeling of great contentment has filled my heart.

God really is the BEST! Of all those years, I could not remember even just one moment when He has abandoned me - even on those times when I was so stubborn...


I could say now that I could not ask for anything more...
The fact that Jesus has been my ever Best Friend, my Savior, my Lord, my Father (especially during those times when my dad was abroad), my Healer when I was hurt, my ever-reliable Companion on my darkest times....

I could not ask for more - my job, my income, my family, my friends, these are all mere bonuses!

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 says:
"I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-this is the gift of God."

Friend, your life is a gift from God!
Proverbs 3:5-6 says:

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."


© 2011 Erickson Ibana

Monday, December 19, 2011

When The Motivation Is Low


Have you ever experienced this kind of scenario before:

Almost out of the sudden you've felt so pumped up when you've started a new idea, and then out of the sudden, you've felt like giving up and you've tossed away everything you've worked hard for because you've lost your motivation?

Or perhaps you were so energetic for a couple of months because you were so inspired by someone that every phrase that comes out of your mouth is so romantic, and then out of the sudden, it seems that all of your energies have hit rock bottom because you were being neglected by that same person?

Or something like this, you were so passionate to learn how to play the violin that you even bought one, but suddenly the drive to acquire the skills were slowly fading that being an excellent violinist was now just an imagination? 

Then, what should you do when the time comes when the motivation to continue and the drive to complete the good work you've started have become so low?

What should you do when the passion that you've once had has been slowly fading away?

"Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going." ~Jim Ryun
 On an article titled: "Five Things You Need to Know About Effective Habit Change", Ian Newby-Clark, an associate professor of psychology at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada who studies habit change describes the practical ways to have an effective habit change.

1. Work on One Habit at a Time.
      If you work on changing more than one habit at a time you run a serious risk of overwhelming yourself and changing no habits at all.
One example is a person who wants to add more exercise hours daily, in spite of the fact that everyday he is already on a 12-hour work shift because of the work load! Contrary to his good motive (to be fit), this is not healthy at all because you are sacrificing your sleep hours.

2. Create a Plan and Write it Down.
     It’s in our nature to want to do better. We almost always want to do better. But wanting isn’t enough. You must make a plan. Write it down. Be as specific as possible.

It is not just enough to say to oneself, "I'm going to do better next time!" I think everyone wants that too, don't you think? What's critical here are the next steps one should make in order to be better.

If he wants to exercise regularly, and yet he wants to accomplish more at work, what are the steps he should make? Minimizing "Facebook" and idle times at work would mean he gets to finish his tasks quickly, and would mean he gets to go home early. How about his schedule? Will he go to the gym at a regular Monday-Wednesday-Friday? He needs to write these down.

3. Refine Your Plan.
     Now you need to refine your plan. In particular, you need to be realistic. Put your plan in a drawer for a day or so and come back to it with fresh eyes. Look at each sentence and ask yourself, “Really? I can do that?” Find someone who will give you an honest opinion. To avoid disappointment and discouragement, cast a critical eye on your plan and make sure that it is truly realistic.

Sometimes, when one plans, he plans for the "best-case scenario". I think one must review his plans and adapt them to the "real-case scenario".

If having a regular exercise on a weekend (rest day) is on his  plans, will he really accomplish it even if his friends would ask him  to go watch a movie together?

4. Make Mini-Plans. 
     You’ve worked on your plan and it is much improved. You’ve taken out all of the bits about you leaping tall buildings in a single bound and cooking a three course meal at the same time. But having a good plan isn’t enough. You have to make mini-plans (research psychologists call them ‘implementation intentions’).
Mini-plans are very helpful. For example, if one's regular exercise is on an M-W-F, he might have these in your mini-plans: "When the alarm clock goes off at 3:00 PM, I will shower immediately, get dressed quickly, have my meal, and must be at the gym before 4:30 PM. Then, have my workout for 1 and a half hours, shower quickly, and be at work before 8:00 PM." (That is, if the working schedule is on a graveyard one: starts at 8:00 PM and onwards...)

5. Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!
     Habits are behaviors that we do over and over again. They become almost automatic. How much thought did you put into your last habitual behavior? Not much, right? It kind of happened just by itself. Now that you have your refined plan and you have your mini-plans, it is time to make your new habit almost automatic. And the only way to do it is by repeating and repeating. And repeating. That’s because psychologists have shown that repeating a behavior over and over again means that it happens automatically or almost automatically. So, the great thing about repeating the behavior is that, eventually, you won’t really have to make yourself repeat it. The new behavior will just kind of happen on its own.
There you go! Repeat what you have just started.

However, if #5 is still hard for you, I think there is somehow a problem with the way you are thinking right now. How come?

Let me explain it through this illustration:
  • Do you THINK a regular exercise CAN really help you attain that "dream body", or you would just do it because you were being forced (peer pressure) by your workmates?
  • Do you THINK accomplishing more at work CAN really make you an effective employee, or you were just completing your tasks for the sake of a "Completed Task" status to the point that the quality of your work were already compromised?
 I think I have heard this from John C. Maxwell:
When you change your THINKING, you change your BELIEFS...
When you change your BELIEFS, you change your EXPECTATIONS...
When you change your EXPECTATIONS, you change your ATTITUDE...
When you change your ATTITUDE, you change your ACTIONS...
When you change your ACTIONS, you change your HABITS...
When you change your HABITS, you change your CHARACTER...
 In order to have a GREAT HABIT, you must begin first from a GREAT way of THINKING!

Actually, the Bible has something to say about how one should think:
"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
And there is this GOOD NEWS here - a GREAT way of THINKING will eventually develop into a GREAT CHARACTER!

Ask God to lead you before making your decisions today! Start with those tiny little decisions you make everyday.

As the author of "The Sherlock Holmes" Novel says:
"It has long been an axiom of mine that the little things are infinitely the most important." ~Arthur Conan Doyle

Start today, my friend! And make it a habit...

Article Source: http://zenhabits.net/five-things-you-need-to-know-about-effective-habit-change/ 

© 2011 Erickson Ibana