Wishing or Working?

   Hi Friends!  Have you ever wished your life could be different?  Ever thought things would be better if you just had that perfect body, home, spouse, job, etc?  All of us have a dream version of ourselves that we would like to come true, but the question is, are you just wishing or are you working?  There is a big difference.  Jay Shetty says in Think Like a Monk, "'I wish' is code for 'I don't want to do anything differently.'" So let me ask you again, are you just wishing things would get better?  

    The truth is, we can wish all we want, but that does not cause anything to actually change.  Have you ever heard the classic tale of the lottery winner who wins big and then two or three years later is bankrupt, divorced, and miserable?  How could this happen?  After all, he got what he wished for, right?  The problem is, a wish does not change us.  We have to do the work of growing into a person who is worthy of the dreams and goals we have.  And before you get offended, I do not mean from a value standpoint.  We all are valuable and have worth just by the sheer fact that we are human beings created in the image of God.  The worth I am referring to here is the skills necessary to obtain and maintain the dream life we desire.  For example, if the lottery winner had taken the time to develop the financial skills necessary to earn wealth and maintain it, they would not be in that position.  Jesus said it this way, "No one pours new wine into old wineskins.  Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined.  No, they pour new wine into new wineskins."  (Mark 2:22)

    Simply receiving the things we want does not catapult us into living the dream life we desire.  If we don't change ourselves and our mindset, we will not be able to hold onto the things we want.  Like the wineskin that burst from the new wine, our old selves and old mindsets will not be able to contain the new things we desire.  We must create new mindsets and new lives if we want to hold onto the blessings we crave.  For example, if you are severely overweight, you might go get liposuction to quickly remove some of the unwanted body mass, but if you don't change your habits, lifestyle, or mindset you may find yourself back in the same position, overweight and unhealthy.  However, if you make the change to start eating healthfully, exercising, and following the proper health procedures, you will be better able to maintain the results of your surgery.  You have become new from the inside out.  

    We can all wish for our lives to be like a Disney story and instantly transform from poverty and misery to riches and royalty, but in real life it doesn't work that way.  Snow White said, "A dream is a wish your heart makes."  But Rachel Hollis said, "A goal is a dream with work boots on."  Are you just wishing, or are you lacing up your boots and going after the changes that will get you to your dreams and goals?  If you want to see your dreams come true, you have to do the work to become the new person who can live out those dreams fully.  Get to work today on transforming yourself from the inside out.  I can't wait to see you succeed!

~K.L.W.