Tag: self-improvement

Categories
Exercise motivation

Strength Under Pressure

Cartoon of a girl watching a boy stir with effort. The girl says, "That does it. You need to exercise more."

Physical exercise makes us stronger. When we run a distance, or lift weights, the resistance causes our muscles to strengthen. It prepares us for when we face a physical challenge and gives us strength under pressure.

Cartoon of a girl watching a boy stir with effort. The girl says, "That does it. You need to exercise more."

“If you fail under pressure, your strength is too small.”

Proverbs 24:10 NLT

Mental and spiritual exercises do something similar. When we feed our mind and spirit, when we make ourselves do the hard work, it will help us when we face bigger challenges.

Does that mean we love exercise? Hardly! Self discipline can be difficult, especially when we have weak areas that we know needs to be strengthened. When we haven’t been exercising for a while, and we discover how weak we’ve become in such a short time, it’s humiliating and discouraging.

And when conditions aren’t optimal, it can be even harder. We may try to job, but the weather is nasty. Then there are the times we are exercising our minds, but we are tempted to turn on the TV and watch some mindless program. Maybe the kids are loud and demand our attention. Self discipline isn’t easy, is it?

But the long-term benefits far outweigh the short-term challenges. When we set a long-term goal, it helps us get over the short-term reluctance.

Few of us are in optimal shape physically, mentally and spiritually. We may be overwhelmed in one or multiple areas. It’s okay! Choose one aspect to focus on today. Start with small steps and know that we will improve in the long-term. Here are some suggestions to tory today.

  • Read something challenging
  • Pray
  • Meditate
  • Journal or do some other form of writing to clarify your thoughts
  • Memorize something
  • Try a puzzle
  • Do some physical exercise

Any of these could be useful when we face pressure. And who doesn’t eventually need strength under pressure?

Editor’s Note: I originally published this blog on October 6, 2015. I revamped and updated it for timeliness and comprehensiveness.

Categories
self-control

Self-Control and Broken Walls

This morning, I get to talk to kids about self-control. It centers around this Proverb:

A person without self-control
is like a city with broken-down walls.

Proverbs 25:28

It’s a topic we know we all need, but rarely want to talk about. After all, it is much easier to blame others for our lack of willpower, than take responsibility. As a parent, some of the most humbling times were when it was obvious to my kids I wasn’t exhibiting strong character. It usually involved a bag of chips.

Cartoon of a dad eating potato chips. He says to his son, "Hey, Son. I'd like to talk to you about self control right after I finish this bag of chips."
Published in the January 2012 Church of God Newsletter

We all have issues with self-control. Whether it’s a weakness for tasty food, idleness, or something much harder to control, we all struggle with something. Why do I suddenly feel hungry this morning?

Categories
motivation

War and Peace

“Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man.”

Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin Quotes. BrainyQuote.com, BrainyMedia Inc, 2021. https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/benjamin_franklin_141046, accessed December 30, 2021.

Frequently, our culture encourages us to confront others. If they don’t believe what our group believes, they are heathens that we should deal with. Media and advertisements tell us we’re okay and if there is any problem, it’s because of “those” people.

This philosophy is enticing because it takes the responsibility off of us. We’re off the hook if everyone else is the problem. We don’t have to change and our kids are all right!

However, the problem with this outlook is nothing ever changes. We discover the other group thinks they are in the right as well. So we have a choice between trying to coerce someone else to change or changing ourselves. And who do we have more control over?

And of course, if the other group is the problem, we must confront them. We should tell them that they’re wrong, ridicule them, shame them and if necessary, fight them. When we do this, we join a proud tradition of going to war.

In this quote, Benjamin Franklin reminds us it is only ourselves that we can change. We have plenty of vices to work on. Let’s start where we are and make this next year a better one.