To Your Success Part 6 - "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is: “Worry is a complete cycle of inefficient thought revolving about a pivot of fear.” ~Author Unknown In other words, when you put your fears to bed, worry gets evicted. That's what this conclusion about worry is all about. Conclusion- As you can see, there are many ideas in this series for dealing with worry and pursue calmness, however, for any of them to be effective you need to apply them. I would like for you to try one of these steps for the next 90 days. Furthermore, worrying is something we all do, but as we grow in Christ, we worry less because we learn that we can depend on him to handle all of our troubles. You see some people tend worry more than others because of genetic and/or environmental factors. For me personally the benefit has come through the memorization of Scriptures, which I recommend to you highly. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will be starting the next series about inspiration very shortly. Stay tuned! Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Succes Part 5 - "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is: "That the birds of worry and care fly over your head, this you cannot change, but that they build nests in your hair, this you can prevent.” ~Chinese Proverb. In other words, if you give worry a comfortable seat he is not likely to get up and leave any time soon. In fact, he will probably invite his friends, doubt and despair, over for a feast. This is what steps 8& 9 talk about. 8. Do Not Worry- You see there are choices involved when it comes to worrying. I would recommend not worrying, for ourselves and for the cause of Christ, because worry will interfere with our effectiveness as witnesses to Christ’s faithfulness. “Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that will not grow weary and lose heart”. ~ Hebrews12:1-3. 9. Consider getting some Counseling- I talk with my counselor twice a day. I’m referring to best counselor money can buy and he is the Lord Jesus Christ. He taught me proverbs teach us that there is safety in counseling. Here are a few examples: “For lack of guidance a nation falls, but victory is won through many advisors”. ~ Proverbs11:14, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed” ~ Proverbs15:22, “Plans are established by seeking advice; so if you wage war, obtain guidance”. ~ Proverbs20:18, and “Surely you need guidance to wage war, and victory is won through many advisers”. ~ Proverbs24:6. His counseling can also offer you encouragement, insight, behavioral tools, education, support, and a chance to share a heavy burden. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will share the conclusion with you at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 4 - "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is: “Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” ~Swedish Proverb In other words, it's better to spend your energy creating resolutions than to spend it nursing your worries. In steps 6&7 it explains this very thing. 6. Realize that God is still running the Show- I remember when I use to laugh at myself. I use to also hear myself say, well, there is nothing else for me to do; so I guess I have to pray. Then I think about the person whom I pray. I pray to God of the universe, the one who can do anything, who is the alpha omega, who is the hosanna, and who is the king of all kings. I pray to someone who is so powerful that he can erase a problem in one thousandth of a second. Why didn’t I make this my first thought to pray? “Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete”. ~ John16:24. It helped me remind myself that God is still in control. He can take care of any of my problems. 7. Improve on your Possibilities- I use to worry about being overweight; then I decided that being overweight, for me, was a reality and that worrying over being this way would not change it. I knew what I could do was take action to prevent possible medical side effects of the disease. I decided to turn from worry to action, and that action worked for me. I’m now 200lbs lighter than I was over 2yrs ago, and I’m free of diabetes, no high blood pressure, cholesterol level is normal, and without side effects. I will tell you more about my story in full in the next chapter called “Inspiration”. In fact God used my obesity to help me develop discipline, which allowed me to help other with their weight loss struggles. Furthermore, quite often future events are not inevitable but just good possibilities. In some cases it may help not only to prepare to accept to what is possible but try to improve on it as well. You see good can come from the apparent bad. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have called according to his purpose”. ~ Romans8:28. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will present steps 8&9 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 3- "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is: “People become attached to their burdens sometimes more than the burdens are attached to them". ~ George Bernard Shaw In other words, constant worry is one of those unproductive habits that should be replaced with positive action. You see steps 4&5 will help you call for postive action. 4. A Plan of Action – One thing that helped me when I want to worry and that is formulate a plan of action to attack the problems that confront me. First, I write down the problems and many options to solve them. Second, I pick a few good options and start to implement these plans. By doing so, it allows me to get my mind off worrying and begins the process to something that may make a difference. I believe this one healthy approach to problem solving and overcoming worry. 5. Share with a close Friend- Throughout my personal experiences in dealing with worry I found out that sharing with others is one the most powerful techniques for dealing with worry. I would recommend building a few good friendships and, on a regular basis, sharing with those friends your worries. “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity”. ~ Proverbs17: 17. I believe the best friend you can ever have is Christ. The reason is because he loves for us to come to share our worries with him. “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother” ~ Proverbs18:24. You see he wants us to become less worry oriented and become more heaven oriented. By doing so, these days of worry will no longer exist. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will present steps 6&7 at later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 2 - "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is: “We can easily manage if we will only take, each day, the burden appointed to it. But the load will be too heavy for us if we carry yesterday's burden over again today, and then add the burden of the morrow before we are required to bear it.” ~ John Newton. I chose this quote for this blog because Steps 2&3 talk about this in more depth. 2. Seeing the Big Picture- There are plenty of times we worry over issues, which are considered being the big picture, however, are really quite minor. I believe the big picture is really of life and death, and also a life to live for Christ. I want you to think about this for a moment. When we think about life and death what really matters? Furthermore, if we had one week to live, would we spend time worrying about things that matter the least? 3. Living One day at a Time- One of my biggest challenges use to be reminding myself to work at living one day at a time. I use to always tell myself, no one knows the future. I had to learn how to enjoy Christ in the present and focus on today. Bill Keane says it best: “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present.” You see people who worry extensively tends to live in the future, worrying about a tomorrow that never happens. When people become obsessive they tend to live in the worry of the past. God always holds tomorrow, and he forgives the past. Matthew 6:34 says it best: “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will about it self. Each day has enough trouble of its own”. Always remember, the future is not here, and the past is gone forever. We can only live in the present. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will share steps 4&5 at a later time with you. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 1- "Worry"

Inspirational quote for today is:“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.” ~Mark Twain. Here it is my new series about how to overcome worry and pursue calmness. One of the biggest obstacles in achieving success is overcoming worry and pursuing calmness. The reason is because when we worry we are troubled or we experience some type of mental uneasiness. It’s also a disturbance to our peace of mind. You see worry is one component of anxiety, with anxiety being used as a much broader term. This also plays a major role when it comes to stress. I believe stress is a close relative like a cousin to worry and anxiety. The reason is because worry and anxiety describes your internal fretting, and stress is considered the external factors causing the worry or anxiety you may have. Most importantly, stress is a state of physical, mental, or emotional tensions caused by these external conditions. No worries. You see every since I’ve been going to Christ I learned ten precious ways to deal with worry. 1.) You must have the desire to Overcome Worry- One thing I learned about worry and that is it’s not easily abated, however, for healthy living it’s definitely a must. You see when you worry about things too much it can play a factor in many medical conditions, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, some cancers, and even physiological changes that results in depression and anxiety. Even though, the Lord forgives us for our sins, but our nervous system in our bodies never does. One thing I experienced was my doctor helping cure my body but not my mind; yet your body and mind are considered as being one and should not be treated separately. I believe Thessaloians1 5:23 says it best: “may God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ”. Also, worry leads to early aging, and it also may be related to an infection that tends to the lymphocytes which fight off disease. Furthermore, when we tend to worry extremely it can trigger our nervous system, which can be a factor in the disease of many organs. Worry can also kill in another way. For example, the loss of a loved one, can lead to extreme stress and worry. If you’ve lost a first-degree relative, one’s chances of dying at any point in time within the next year is increased sevenfold. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. I will post Step 2 at a later time. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.

To Your Success Part 6

Inspirational Quote for today is:"Many are the plans in a person's heart, but it is the Lord's that prevails"~ Proverbs19:21 I chose this one because I believe the final step which is number 9 says it all. 9.) Making sure you Dwell with Christ- I believe the key to reaching your maximum potential doesn’t lie within you. The reason is because Christ expects you to be responsible, but your potential dwells inside of him. The key to reaching your maximum potential is by letting Christ do it through you. It always has to be Christ. There’s no way on this earth we can compare with his power. You see we all have been victims of identity theft. The reason is because we all were told lies about who we are. For instance, lies about your purpose in life. Always remember nothing in your life is random. Everything has a purpose, indeed, a divine purpose. Second, lies about what defines you, that is, what gives your life meaning and significance, and therefore, what makes you a “happy” person. In addition, we’ve been told lies about our future. Of course, your past and present circumstances will stand between you and your future, your destiny. This is why having faith is so essential. Unbelief can’t forget the past and stares at all the problems we face in the present. You see having faith sees the future. Having faith sees God. Marie Stendhal says it best: “Almost all our misfortunes in life come from the wrong notions we have about the things that happen to us.” Once we find our true identity with Christ, it makes our relationship with him the most important part of our life. The more we become like him, the easier it is for him to use as his glory. As long as, God’s hand is with you, you will reach your maximum potential, for he will help you do it. Conclusion- It is definitely possible to overcome discouragement. There are several ways you can do it. For instance, you can try using some of the tools I’ve just shared with you and applying them for one week. You can also rate your discouragement on a scale between 1-10. Always remember you can overcome discouragement. You see often gold lies just beneath the grass. Most importantly, when you overcome these fears and discouragement not only there’s gold waiting you are on right the journey to success. I will be sarting a new series about worry at a later time. I trust you enjoy reading this blog, and I pray that it helps you as you begin to change your life and achieve great success. Talk to you soon, Gary R. Johnson.