The River Is Always There

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No motivation? Here's one reason why. The Pharaoh Syndrome

Synopsis of this article:

We decide we need to do something. We find the Motivation do do it. We put into action the new behavior. We like the newness of change and getting things done so we add a few more things to our change list. Now the burden of all these changes get overwhelming. We get frustrated. We get frustrated and decide "what the heck... I can't do this!" and we go right back to our old selves... reinforcing the idea that we will never change. It is just too hard!

But.. if we choose just one thing (make it an easy thing) that we want to change and put it into practice and REFUSE to pile on ANYTHING else... our chances of making that change permanent are a lot greater. Practice this ONE THING until it becomes a life habit. Continue reading below for a further exploration of this topic.

Our flesh.. or the enemy likes to pile things on our back.. We decide we are going to start making one change in our lives.. Perhaps getting up early... or eating a certain way.. or trying to be a little more positive. So.. we start to do that... and then all these other things we should or could be doing start coming into our minds. There are many reasons for that. Perhaps we have gone so long without motivation to make any changes.. and finally some motivation shows up.. we all love that sensation.... the ever elusive "motivation." To me it is like the stirring of the waters in John 5. It doesn't happen that often... and it doesn't last that long. But.. i digress. So.. we get excited when the waters of motivation are stirred.. We all have this long list of things we want to get done if and when Motivation ever shows up. Now getting things done is a good thing... but how many of you have heard that too much of a good thing can be bad for you? Well.. this is the case when it comes to lists. The enemy of the good is the best. If we magically find ourselves endowed with a dose of Motivation.... let's get as much done as possible. Let's get our never ending "To Do List" out and hit it running. How many of us has done that? ...... Wrote the book?...... Bought the T-shirt?........ Dawned the tattoo???? Oh my!

I call this the Pharaoh Syndrome. There are several perpetrators of this syndrome. First there is the self.. Like I eluded to earlier.. we are just so excited that we feeling like doing something so we get out our "To Do List" and start hacking away at this list an quickly get frustrated because we can't get it all

Second... there are the pressures of society. So... we decide that we are going to get up a little earlier every day. We are pretty proud of ourselves. Well, how is that even impressive. The guy on the front of Men's Health Magazine with the chiseled abs gets up two hours before everyone else.... makes his healthy protein, keto, non-gluten, organic soy shake... goes on an hour run and THEN hits the gym before he even heads to the office. How is my little getting out of bed 15 minutes early measuring up to that. So.. i start adding on.. I will get up 15 minutes early.. and I will do ONE pushup and a half a crunch before I get in the shower. Before you know it.. we have added to our list a half a dozen things that we know we really won't follow through with and we will then toss the whole list.

Last but not least is the enemy of our souls. Pharaoh is a type of Satan. His goal is to make us miserable. To cause us to not enjoy this wonderful life that God has made available to us. So... when he sees us starting a new habit that will set us up for enjoying this life a little more he starts scheming. Perhaps it is facing a fear. Perhaps reaching out and becoming more social. Maybe it is time to start eating a little healthier. There are numerous habits that we can add to our lives to allow us to enjoy this wonderful life even more. So we start getting up a little early. Pharaoh knows where this will lead.. to our freedom and enjoyment in this life. He does not want us to go free. So.. he will start piling on more and more things for us to do... until it BREAKS US! When that happens he has us right back where he wants us.. A slave. Not enjoying our lives. Bound up by fears and insecurities.

BUT!!!!..... if we refuse to listen to society. If we let the words of Pharaoh fall on deaf ears we can witness the change that we do desire manifest itself in our lives. Choose one thing. Limit it to one thing. In fact.. the smaller the task the better. Do that one thing. Do it consistently. Do it repeatedly. They say it takes 21 days to make a habit. Set a reminder on your phone to do this one thing for 21 days. Refuse to "pile on" other tasks. Even if Mr. Motivation stays around... refuse to add other task. Solidify this ONE THING. At the end of 21 days after this new behavior is "yours" at that point you can add the next habit you want to incorporate in your life.

Remember the old adage KISS? Keep it Simple Stupid! Or, "Keep It Small and Simple!". To big truth to this saying. Choose that ONE THING today. Keep it small and manageable. Stick with that one thing. Refuse to allow Pharaoh to "pile on". Use technology to keep you on track. Set reminders frequently. Even set reminders to not "pile on". Celebrate your success frequently. If you go a week doing this small thing... treat yourself to a movie.

You can do this!


Addendum (30 minutes later)

Today I woke up at 6:30am. Rested... usually my habit is laying in bed for a while. I might read a little. Think... very little!!!! It might be an hour.. or sometimes two.. but then I get up. I decided that I would get up. That I could read and "think" sitting downstairs in the living room. I do that. I spend some quiet time with God and the thoughts for this article start to roll.... so I begin to write. This one took a little longer to develop than most articles. So.. now here it is 3 hours after I got up out of bed. The thoughts start to churn.... Okay.. I've been out of bed 3 hours and i have not accomplished anything... okay... where did that voice come from... I'm gonna call it "Pharaoh"

Pharaoh: you have been out of bed 3 hours and you have done nothing but sit on that computer .

Me: wrong... I did the dishes and cleaned the kitchen while I waited for my water to boil for my tea. Me: and besides that I just got done writing this article dealing with the stupid things that you say Pharaoh. The one thing I needed to get done today.. I already did it! I got out of bed right away. Yes.. there are others things I did today.. but that is not the point. I am not going to allow you to "pile on" your tasks in order to wear me down and get me to throw in the towel.. and feel guilty for not weeding my yard.... cleaning out my car... taking the dog for a walk... etc.. etc.. etc..

Me: see ya Pharaoh!

This taking every thought captive stuff is serious stuff but very freeing!

The Storm Inside

Titled: The Storm Inside

If you know me well... you will know that I am infatuated with cloud formations and even more so... storms.  I have been told many times that I am crazy for the random exclamations of.... "there's a duck!" or "Look at the elephant!"  while we are driving. My wife  will glance out the window looking for a loose elephant from a zoo.... or some baby ducklings walking along the side of the road... but after all these years she gets me... then her gaze turns towards the sky and just shakes her head. 

But my favorite infatuation with the clouds is when they turn dark.  When clouds start to turn ominous and pick up speed... my phone comes out and I go to an app on my phone that shows the areas of highest concentrated lightning strikes.  If it is within 10 miles.. I will get in my car and drive there and park my car and enjoy the show. 

Even though I enjoy a weather storm as described above.... there is a storm that I have been so fearful of throughout my life........ that is the internal storm.  As I have gotten older I realize that everyone experiences these kind of storms from time to time... I have been one to experience them more than I prefer.  

These storms come with no rhyme or reason.  Sure, I can sometimes blame it on different life circumstances.  Perhaps a bill might be due.  Taxes.   Rejection from others.  A health condition.  The current political debacle (argggg).  But I have discovered after many years that these storms come and go regardless of  external events.  As recent as this morning... day five of my summer vacation.... after a wonderful day of reconnecting with friends from 30 years ago.... reminiscing with my wife about this day (August 1st) being the day that we were engaged 26 years ago.  Having a wonderful conversation with our oldest daughter who is extremely happy in North Carolina..... so..... why the internal storm???   Who the heck knows?  I haven't been able to figure it out in my 50 plus years.  Everytime I go through this.. I fear that I might go back into a time period where the darkest clouds came and stayed for years... 

But today... I was able to keep my senses.  Today I was able to compare the internal storm clouds to the wonderful storm clouds of nature that I adore. I have read so many times the advice by many writers that one should  just sit and observe these internal clouds... because they will pass.  So... that is what  I did..   I didn't try to figure them out. I didn't try to push them away.  I didn't even try to ignore them.  I sat there quietly and just observed them.............  and...... an amazing thing happened.  Suddenly they weren't as ominous.    Then..... they were rolling past. What could have become a day of me turning over, pulling covers over my head to hide from the storm... or a frantic search on Google or Reddit for answers or ways to push back these clouds... I just... observed... these... clouds.   

Now.. here I am thirty minutes into almost finishing this blog.  Not only am I not hiding and wasting a complete day, but I am putting something out into the world that I know others will identify with... because I have talked with others who go through this same thing.   In a few minutes I will be getting up to a very productive day.  If the storm clouds roll back over (which they usually do) I will just simply take whatever time needed to observe them.  

I will stand in awe of the beauty of these menacing visions.   I will look for the elephant in that cloud.  Look... there's a triceratops! (Made you look) 

Can any one relate to this phenonemon? Please feel free to share your story as well. Thanks for letting me share mine

twofold aspects of faith. must believe that God is. And also must believe that he is a rewarder of those that seek Him

Faith is to our spirit life and spirit man as the blood is to our physical bodies. Faith is what brings life. But, that face has to have love as its root.

Without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb 11:6... But!!! Not only do you use that faith to believe that there is a God. That is not enough! You also must believe that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.