Think For A Change

We cannot become what we need to be by remaining what we are.

(Max Dupree)

One day Charlie Brown approached Linus with a question, “Perhaps you can give me an answer, Linus. What would you do if you felt that no one liked you?” Without a moment of hesitation Linus gave his best answer, “I’d try to look at myself objectively, and see what I could do to improve. That’s my answer, Charlie Brown!” He replied, “I hate that answer!” Most of us realize that life could be better if we changed some things, but for some reason we put self improvement last on our list of priorities. We often wait until change is forced on us through divorce, the loss of a job or until our health begins to deteriorate.

How can we change our lives and where do we begin? The answer is simple, and yet it is one of the hardest things we will ever undertake. We must “think for a change!” How many of you can hear voices echoing in your mind, possibly those of a parent, teacher or employer; and they are saying, “Why don’t you think for a change!” “You never become something or someone you did not first become in your thoughts. Who you are is a direct result of what you think” (Tommy Barnett). In order to change our behavior we must first change our thoughts.

“You are today where your thoughts have brought you and you will be tomorrow where your thoughts take you” (James Allen). There is a simple answer to the complex problems that trouble us. Steven Covey writes in Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “Sow a thought, reap an action; sow an action, reap a habit; sow a habit, reap a character; sow a character, reap a destiny.” Our destiny is determined by our thoughts. Why is it so hard to change the way we think? Habits and feelings, along with the negative feedback we have received from others, all contribute towards the difficulty of changing our minds. The Apostle Paul declared, “Put off your former conduct … and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.” “Life consists of what we are thinking about all day long” (Emerson). Do you want to live a perfect life? Follow the advice of Isaiah the Prophet, “You Lord, will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You.”