Two Lessons from Amazing Ants—DON’T FORGET TO WATCH THE VIDEO!

Are you burdened with a heavy load of change that you believe is impossible?  Maybe you want to overcome an addiction or lose some weight.  If this is the case, I would like you to consider one insect—the ant.  The ant can teach us two lessons that I would like us to consider in light of adopting lasting lifestyle change. 

Diligence

First, let’s define diligence.  Dictionary.com says that diligence is the constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken.  I must confess that although I am writing this blog, I too could implement this more into my life.  But let’s take a closer look at an ant’s diligence. 

Ants take A LOT of short breaks.  On average, worker ants nap about 250 times per day, but the naps last just over one minute.  This equates to about four and half hours of sleep per day.  I think that when adopting lifestyle change this could help prevent burn out.  In other words, don’t stress out over the minutes you take a break, but make sure you keep the goal in front of you so you do not linger into laziness.  Another point worth mentioning here for the extremists—you need more than four hours of sleep.  Make sure you get your seven and half to nine hours of sleep if possible. 

Interdependence

Interdependence is a fancy word for having balanced relationships.  You are not dependent in the sense that you cannot function as an individual, but you are also not the lone ranger who claims sole independence.  You recognize that you need others, but you also do your part as an individual. 

The cool thing about ants here is that they move an estimated 50 tons of soil per year in one square mile.  Do you think that one ant could do that alone?  Nope.  They need help—and lots of it.  In the same way, when you want to make a move in life, you need to get some help.  Do not be afraid to reach out to those who will support you in your change.  Make this circle as big as possible.  Just like the ant though, you still have to do your own lifting. 

The Bottom Line

Ants are great testimonies to the power of what can be accomplished when you are diligent and interdependent.  Take some time right now for 10 or 15 minutes and evaluate your commitment to change in these areas.  Are your breaks too long?  What will you do to help shorten those breaks?  Do you have a circle of support to help you change?  If not, write those names down and decide what you will talk to them about today.  What do you need from them?  Dig like an ant and Break your Nature.  Watch this video to see what one colony of ants accomplished!  Amazing! 

Nick Massey is a Life Coach, Speaker, and Writer.  To read more from Nick Massey, or to schedule him for a Life Coaching session, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at http://www.coachmassey.com. © 2014 Nick Massey

How to Enjoy Change--the Successes and Failures

Contentment is a key to enjoying the lifestyle changes you are making.  I want you be okay, and even rejoice in change—the successes and failures.  It is easy to be content in the good times, but much more difficult for most people in the bad times.  Before we move along though, I want to talk about what contentment is and is not.

Contentment and Complacency
A good picture of this is found in the letter from Paul to the Philippians.  In the close of the letter, he tells the Philippians that he has “learned in whatever situation [he is in] to be content” (Philippians 4:11b, ESV).  To counterbalance the laid back, laissez faire, complacent individuals (I myself was one), I want to point out something else in the same letter.  In chapter three verses twelve thru fourteen, Paul uses the phrases “press on to make it my own,” and “press on toward the goal” (ESV).

My point here is that contentment includes progress toward a goal, while also being okay with the circumstances you have been given. 

The Secret to Contentment

The other noteworthy statement from Paul is his statement about the secret to contentment.  He says, “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.  I can do all things through [Christ] who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12b-13, ESV).  So the secret is strength from Christ, but how does that happen?  I believe it is a mindset that is given from God.

For one to be content, they must see that whether it is suffering or ease, pain or pleasure—that they all come from the hand of God (Romans 8:28).  Let me explain.

You may be thinking, “Suffering from God?  What kind of loving God would do that?”  This all depends on how you view love.  Love is a full word.  For example, I am affectionate with my son and this is an expression of my love for him.  On the other hand, I also discipline him when necessary.  I am sure that he would call the affection pleasure and the discipline pain.  Both of these come from a loving father that desires his best.

I can remember when my dad would discipline me—I did not see it as love then.  As a matter of fact, I can remember saying that I would never do that to my kids.  Although I did not understand then, with the passing of time and the turning of tables, I now see why my dad allowed suffering to enter my life.  It is the same with God.  We may not know why he allowed one of our children to die at a young age, or even why someone gets cancer, but in the end things often become clearer. 

The End of the Matter

So here’s the bottom line.  A person who is content has received it as a gift from God, has the understanding that all life circumstances come from a loving Heavenly Father, and is moving forward in progress.  I can imagine that Paul often meditated on the life of Christ, especially the last week, and often felt that his suffering paled in comparison.  I encourage you to be content, enjoy the change, and Break your Nature.

Nick Massey is a Life Coach, Speaker, and Writer.  To read more from Nick Massey, or to schedule him for a Life Coaching session, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at http://www.coachmassey.com. © 2014 Nick Massey

8 Secrets of Transformational Thinking

Nathan and Nancy Negative are some of the most miserable people on planet earth.  Their problem?  You got it—they are negative.  They complain about everything, never make mistakes themselves, and always have something to say about what someone else is doing. If you happen to be related to the couple above, you probably won’t even recognize it.  You are actually probably thinking of someone else who is negative.  That is part of the problem…most negative people don’t even realize they are that way. 

So, let’s just assume you realize that you are a negative person, and are wondering what you can do to change this.  Below are eight acceptable thoughts that can help.  Think on these things.

True

I know what you are thinking.  “I’ve got this one down pat!”  Not so fast.  What is meant by true, is thinking on reality.  In other words, think about what has actually happened and not what could happen; especially dwelling on the worst case scenario. 

Honorable

Some people may have visions of chivalry here, and it is actually not that far off.  This type of thought life can be described by meditating on noble character and moral uprightness. 

Just

To be just is to be fair and equitable.  This would include not being partial or biased, and avoiding stereotypes.  In other words, don’t assume the worst of a person, but approach it with a neutral mindset.

Pure

The words reserved and clean could come to mind here.  I will translate for you though:  do not hold on to anger, lust, lying, stealing, rebellion, etc.  Kick those thoughts out and replace them with love, honesty, and submission. 

Lovely

When I think of lovely I think of something that is pleasing.  In a not so normal sense, thinking on lovely thoughts is actually about musing over how you can befriend or please someone else. 

Commendable

For a thought to be commendable, it is based on what others would like to hear.  I can’t speak for you, but it makes me happy to hear about the good things that happen to people. 

Excellence

Men can appreciate this word, as excellence is a reference to manliness and valor.  Words like courage, bravery, and boldness are closely associated with excellence.  Women are not excluded here; I am just giving the definition of the transliterated Greek.  It should also be kept in mind that brazen disrespect is not included here. 

Praiseworthy

This really is the bottom line here when we talk about relationships; if you do not have anything nice to think, then don’t think it.  Try to find the best in others and share with them how God has blessed you through knowing them.

Boom.  That’s it!  Your brain controls the rest of your body including your emotions and behavior.  Change the way you think and change your life.  Break your thinking patterns and break your nature. 

Nick Massey is a Life Coach, Speaker, and Writer.  To read more from Nick Massey, or to schedule him for a Life Coaching session, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at http://www.coachmassey.com. © 2014 Nick Massey

Introduction to the V.I.P. of Change

We have spent some time talking about the science and process of change, but today I want to share with you the person of change.  His name is the Holy Spirit.  I would be amiss if I gave you all the other information and then did not share with you this truth.  What follows is not a detailed discussion, but they are a few things I have picked up along the way.

The Ultimate Change

As a human, the most rewarding and greatest change that can happen is to transition from the Kingdom of Darkness to the Kingdom of Light.  This is an eternal change in position.  This change is accomplished by God the Father activating the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the lives of you and me.  This change is not initiated by humans, but by God.  It occurs when an individual understands that they cannot make payment for or make right all of the wrongs things they have done.  The good news is this; a man named Jesus walked this earth, and he was the son of God in heaven.  He made the payment by dying for our failings and reconciled us to God.  Greater still is the fact that He not only died, but He was brought back to life and now lives in heaven.  In heaven, He is continually praying to God the Father on your and my behalf.  As you and I humbly ask God to forgive us of our wrong thoughts and actions, He promises to erase the record book of evil and give us the power to overcome.  This is the ultimate change!

Baptism

Just as with any other great event or success in a person’s life, they usually want to tell everyone about the good thing that has happened to them.  A solemn but joyful celebration takes place in the Christian’s life.  Christian’s call this baptism.  Baptism is a time of recounting the events that lead to a person’s great change.  It is a time that they publicly express their decision to forsake the ways of Satan and unite with God.  While this is a serious event, it is followed by a joyful gathering of friends and church family to celebrate their decision. 

Abiding

The part that most applies to what we have been speaking of in the past couple of months happens here.  All positive change is directed by the Holy Spirit.  This cannot happen apart from daily choosing to seek God’s desire for our life.  We do this by talking to Him (prayer), listening to Him (Bible study), and doing things together (serving others).  I hope you have personally made a decision for ultimate change, baptism, and abiding with God.  If you have questions, please feel free to contact me through my website on the Contact page.

Nick Massey is a Life Coach, Speaker, and Writer.  To read more from Nick Massey, or to schedule him for a Life Coaching session, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at http://www.coachmassey.com. © 2014 Nick Massey

Overcomer's Do These 3 Things

After all of the hard work, your moment of victory is just within reach.  You can grab it!  It’s up to you.  The closer you get, the more you can tangibly feel what it will be like.  When you grab it, there is a personal joy and sense of satisfaction that cannot be explained—you have to experience it.  This moment is what Breaking Natures is all about!  Victory!  Success!  Overcoming!  Whatever word describes your personal goal is what you insert here.

Reaching the goal is not the end though.  Sure, a celebration, a pause, and taking time to reflect on your accomplishment are all in order.  But the journey does not end.  You extend the vision, set the next goal, and keep climbing. 

Celebration

People celebrate victory in different ways.  My suggestion is to make it personal and have people close by that mean a lot to you and have supported your goal.  When I graduated from High School, it didn’t mean much to me because I did not apply myself.  It was just another day like the rest.  Thirteen years later, I will graduate with a Bachelor’s degree, and it is a totally different experience.  I look forward to commencement much more this time around.  I have put in a lot of prayer, late nights, and hard work to get where I am.  I often think about what it will be like.  Who will come and share this moment with me?  It actually helps drive me to the finish line.  Emotion begins to swirl in my chest and well up to my cheeks as I think about what God has allowed me to accomplish.  This journey has been a character issue for me.

Extend the Vision

This is a time of refocusing and looking ahead.  You may have been doing this already and that’s great.  In reality though, great visions are usually pretty big and it will possibly take you a life time to achieve.  You should be revisiting your vision daily and at least weekly, but taking the time to revisit your vision now will definitely allow you to see if adjustments are necessary.  Once you have the right vision it will probably not change very often.

Next Goal

You have to keep climbing the mountain of life!  If you camp out on this ledge, you are likely to climb back down.  Life is an endless mountain in one sense and the journey is tough, but when you reach the summit of your climb you will be able to look back with satisfaction and thankfulness to God.  So you have to set your next goal that is going to take you closer to your vision.  Crazy successful people usually do not come up on a point when they realize they have reached their last goal—they are thinking way ahead. 

The bottom line is that after you have embraced change, keep reaching!  Keep climbing!  Stop to enjoy the scenery, but move on.  Break your Nature and be an Overcomer.

Nick Massey is a Life Coach, Speaker, and Writer.  To read more from Nick Massey, or to schedule him for a Life Coaching session, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at http://www.coachmassey.com. © 2014 Nick Massey

Riddle: What Does RISK Have in Common With Change?

RISK is a board game where the players set out to conquer the world, and the successful players carefully calculate their moves.  Change is a process that is much the same.  Successful people who adopt change make plans in advance.  Both require strategy.

Dictionary.com defines strategy as “a plan, method, or series of maneuvers or stratagems for obtaining a specific goal or result.”  You may have heard the phrase before, “plan of attack.”  Both the definition and the military phrase sum up in broad terms what we have been talking about over that past two months: vision, assessment, prioritizing, overcoming obstacles, etc.  So let’s tie it all up.

What usually happens to most people who dream, is that they get this idea in their head and just as they get ready to pull it down out of the clouds and give it feet, they freeze.  “I can’t actually do this!  What I am thinking?”  Then they just pop the bubble and forget about it.  The most commonly used analogy to express this phenomenon is that of an elephant in the room.  Someone takes you into a room with an elephant and then tells you to eat.  How do you start eating an elephant?  One bite at a time.

That’s what a strategy is.  If you are anything like me though, you are asking yourself,

“How am I going to get that elephant to let me eat it,” and “Man that’s some tough skin!”  Answering these questions is all part of building a strategy to eat your elephant vision one bite at a time. 

I must say though, all the strategizing in the world with no action is pointless.  Napolean said it well when he stated to “Take time to deliberate, but when the time for action comes, stop thinking and go in.”  

One of my clients suffered from what he called “analysis paralysis.”  He would make crazy to do lists, research something to death, talk about it to others, and then go back and think some more.  Eventually, he would talk himself out of the task or keep on thinking about it.  One and a half Life Coaching sessions set him up for success.  He learned to stop analyzing too much and take small bites.  He was so amazed with my Wheel of Life Balance, and how I showed him to self-evaluate and move forward, that he went around sharing it with others!  

One last tip and this one is inspired.  Seek out more than one person to bounce ideas off of.  “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14, ESV).  Break out a strategy.  Break out of inaction.  And by all means, Break your Nature!

Nick Massey is a Life Coach, Speaker, and Writer.  To read more from Nick Massey, or to schedule him for a Life Coaching session, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at http://www.coachmassey.com.  © 2014 Nick Massey

  

What do Bear Hunting and Breaking Natures Have in Common?

I am not sure if you have kids or not, but chances are that you may have at least heard this song when you were growing up.  I first heard my wife sing it to our son.  It is kind of fun.  If you want to listen to it, just click the hyperlink below.  It goes something like this. 

Going on a bear hunt… Coming to a river.  Can’t go under it.  Can’t fly over it.  Let’s get in the boat!

Now if you were singing along and went through the hands motions, don’t worry, no one was looking.  Actually, I can’t promise that no one was looking, but I can promise that when you start making progress to meet your bear in life, you will encounter obstacles.  There are a couple of ways to handle these obstacles.

Turn Back

This option rarely solves anything.  In real terms, you have a goal and are making progress.  You come to an obstacle and instead of overcoming or finding alternatives, you turn around and go back where you came from…unsuccessful, bored, unmotivated, and purposeless.  This is no way to live.  Don’t turn back! 

Camp Out

Some people camp out.  I find this kind of humorous.  I have done it so I am laughing at myself.  Picture this.  You are walking towards your bear of a goal, you come to this obstacle river, and pitch camp to decide what to do.  You way over-analyze the problem, and start drawing plans to engineer a bridge.  Soon, you realize you have to build a house here and you begin to decorate the place.  Before you know it, you have decided that this obstacle isn’t all that bad.  Instead of pursuing your God-given dream, you decide to settle.

Get Wet

This can actually be fun!  Just jump in and swim across the river.  This is not always the best option though.  Some people just aren’t good swimmers.  Also, the river could be raging and it would not be wise for anyone to jump in and swim across.

Look for Alternatives

Sometimes, a second pair of eyes can help you to find alternatives.  What tools do you have?  Is there something close by that might help you get across?  Was this in your plan?  Did you bring a map?  Life Coaches are like cell phone guides when a person is stuck.  They can’t see everything you have, but they can ask questions to get you thinking.  Lots of times we focus on the problem and lose the vision for possibilities.

Go the Long Way Around

This is not always a bad idea, but it requires persistence and accountability.  In reality you can’t always overcome your obstacles or you do not have the right resources, so you have to go around the long way.  This can be a fun journey and provide excellent experience that will help you when you meet your bear of a goal.

I would like to suggest that of all the options we just discussed, there are only three options that we should consider in life.  First, we should look for alternatives.  Second, we should get wet and swim through if you can swim and the conditions are right.  Third, we can go the long way around.  I hope the next time you get stuck because of an obstacle, and we all do, that you will remember the bear hunt song, and visit my website to set up an appointment through my contact page.

Nick Massey is a Life Coach, Speaker, and Writer.  To read more from Nick Massey, or to schedule him for a Life Coaching session, or book him to speak to your church, business, or group, visit our website at http://www.coachmassey.com. © 2014 Nick Massey