Dare To Be Real

August 26, 2012 by 29 Comments
Share on Tumblr Share

 

 

 

 

Dare To Be Real

by Olga Hermans

Have you ever wondered why people do the things they do or what causes them to behave in a certain way they do? What motivates them to achieve or accomplish things in life? These are some good questions and to answer them we have to look within.

Though many people think they might know themselves and others, we cannot see what is happening on the inside of them or us; in our soul where our will, our mind and our emotions reside or what is in our heart.

We may get to know others over the course of time in a very personal way as we share our experiences in life, our hopes and our dreams and maybe our secrets from time to time. But we will always have limited access, because in the end it is always God who can see within the soul.

It Takes Courage 

There are times that it really takes courage for us to look within ourselves and to see what is really going on; our hidden thoughts, desires and emotions that are tucked away but need to be dealt with. We might think or feel that most areas of our heart are perfectly fine.

But it really takes time to examine and reflect on the things we’ve experienced in life; we have to figure out how we really feel.

Life is a journey to be discovered and it brings a lot of change. As we go about to discover and uncover certain things about ourselves, we find out that we need to make adjustments in order to continue to grow and to become mature.

There is this continuous growth process and personal development that enables us and empowers us to be men and women of destiny and of purpose. When we discover who we really are we will experience that it liberates us to be free and to be the best at what we have been created to do here on this earth for God, for ourselves and for others.

Are You Willing To Look Within?

There is a quote from Oscar Wilde that I really like, it says: “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” Or Ralph Waldo Emerson, who says: “Make the most of yourself….for that is all there is of you.” I love quotes, you? The point is that we shouldn’t try to become someone you are not. Be real. Be yourself.

Oftentimes, when we are not true to ourselves, we end up deceiving ourselves in an attempt to be someone we really aren’t. We can get so caught up in the day to day interactions with other people and the things going on around us that, if we are not careful, we end up losing ourselves in the process.

Be Authentic

The key to being an authentic individual is having a pure heart and really knowing who you are, from the inside out. We are the sum of all the choices we have made in our life; the good, the bad and the ugly.

Everything that we have experienced from childhood to the present has helped to shape and mold our personalities and identities. My own experience that has definitely shaped me is that my parents passed on when I was twenty years old. This definitely has set me apart from many other people but also in a group of many people who have experienced the same.

Looking within may require us to face some real tough issues, but as we expose and uncover them, we allow God to do a work in us. Then the experience becomes a testimony to others of the goodness and the faithfulness of God.

Why We Do What We Do

Every issue in our life stems from what is within. This includes why we do the things we do. Whatever is in the inside will eventually be seen on the outside. Whether it is low self-esteem, pride, unforgiveness, appreciation, love, commitment, or some other underlying factors, they will determine our thoughts and our actions.

Pure Motives

It is within the heart that we can find the true reason or motive behind why we do what we do. People look at the outer appearance, God looks at our hearts. Many times in life we have to judge our hearts by asking questions like: Why do I do the things I do?
Am I going above and beyond my duties at work to simply be noticed, or because I am a diligent and dedicated worker? Do I help others just to be seen or for what I can get out of the deal, or am I doing it because it honors God? Doing right things for the wrong reasons, still doesn’t make things right.

Guard Your Heart

When change occurs on the inside of our hearts, it causes a change on the outside. True change will happen from the inside out. We are instructed in Proverbs 4:23 to guard our hearts diligently. Guarding ourselves against negative talk and negative people helps us to keep our hearts guarded and free from contamination.

When we put the right things in our hearts, we will get the right results in our lives.

Are You The Real Deal?

When we have the courage to look within, it causes us to be honest with ourselves about who we are at the very core of our being and we can honestly answer questions like: what drives my actions? What causes me to behave a certain way? What are my motives?

What are the things that keep you moving in a positive direction?

Share on Tumblr Share
Filed Under: 5 Your Character Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Using Social Media Strategies To Relate To Your Partner

July 31, 2012 by 31 Comments
Share on Tumblr Share

 

Today is a special day; I am so excited to introduce to you my friend Susan Preston who writes on relationships and social media strategies on her blog. Susan and I have met in a business networking group online where we learn and receive input from each other. I know that you will receive something new from her today concerning your relationship with your partner using Social Media.

Here is Susan; enjoy her post!

 

 

 

 

Using Social Media Strategies To Relate To Your Partner 

by Susan Preston

 

Just about everybody uses some kind of social media site these days. I just finished commenting on what are the essential elements that are necessary when using social media on a facebook post. Then it hit me, what if we spent even half as much time on Relating with our partner, as we do with our friends, potential clients and clients…can you imagine how much better our relationships would be?

Since we go to relationships to give and share, by using the five strategies that you use everyday when you are on your social networks you will find that you have even more so to bring to your relationship. I believe that you will find that it will help you to relate with your partner at an even deeper level, thus bringing your relationship to an Extraordinary place!

Five Steps On How To Use Social Media Strategies To Relate To Your Partner:

Be You:

It is so important to be yourself in your relationship. By embracing who you truly are and tapping into your true Magnificence and then sharing yourself with your partner, it will help them to feel like they can do the same and be themselves. Don’t try to be like you think they want you to be, but rather who you really are.

By continually filling yourself up with love, joy, happiness, self-esteem, honor, respect and worthiness, etc. you will be able to share yourself at a much more deeper and meaningful level. Now you have two people who are building a relationship who are totally comfortable being themselves, that is a Win-Win situation for everyone!

Listen Attentively:

You need to listen to your what your partner is saying. They maybe sharing with you their problems and frustrations and if you are so busy trying to do other things while they are talking, you may miss the true meaning of what they are trying to say. Make it about them! Really listen generously, to what they are saying not what you think they are saying. Reflect back on what they said to make sure it is accurate. Tune in to what they truly need and feel what’s going on underneath it all. It is so important to make them feel that they are being heard and that they truly matter! By giving them your undivided attention, they will feel like they are a priority rather then as an option in your life.

Engage:

After you listen to them, engage with them. Acknowledge what they are feeling. Give your input into the situation in a kind and loving way. Sometimes, just by acknowledging what they are feeling is all that is necessary. If there is a way to help them, do so. Don’t go overload them with your opinion. Your partner may not always remember what you say, but they will always remember how you made them feel.

Give:

Since relationships are a place that we go to give of ourselves, by filling yourself up with all the goodies as I call them [love, honor, respect, etc.] you will have even more to give of yourself on a consistent basis. You see you cannot give to others on a consistent basis what you don’t give to yourself first. A lot of times people try to do so, but end up feeling drained and empty and don’t feel like they have anymore to give.

Making it about them at times makes them feel that you appreciate them and you know yourself, when you feel appreciated you want to give even more. People love to feel that they are a significant part of their partner’s life.

Share:

When you continually fill yourself up with all of the goodies, you will find you are much more creative and inspired. Thus, as a result you will be able to share yourself as well as your creativity and inspiration to help with a challenge that your partner maybe going through. Share who you are and some of the great things that are happening in your life and business, but do it graciously. By doing this, you will help your partner to feel comfortable about sharing who they are.
By using these five strategies, it will take your relationship to that next Amazing level. You might even want to message them privately on facebook and ask them on a hot date. We spend so much time using our social networks why not get creative using them to relate to your partner! I would love for you to comment below how you might use social media to relate to your partner, thanks!

Is your mindset keeping you from growing your business? If you would like more help with this or if you are having challenges in any of your relationships, Susan would love to help. Click on Free Consultation and Susan will give a free 30 minute consultation to answer any pressing questions that you may have to give you the clarity that you may need, in order to move in the right direction.

Susan Preston is a Mindset Motivator & a Relationship Mentor. Susan can empower you to Master your Mindset and Ignite your Relationships by helping you to get the clarity to take your life and business to that next Amazing level. She brings a lifetime of experience to help you create that balance in every area of your life so that you are truly living your Dreams! You can see more of Susan’s work at http://SusanCanHelpMe.com.

 

Share on Tumblr Share
Filed Under: Social Media Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Your Season Can Shift With One CHOICE

July 29, 2012 by 54 Comments
Share on Tumblr Share

 

 

 

 

Your Season Can Shift With One CHOICE

by Olga Hermans

Sometimes it feels like we need a shift in our life, we are in the middle of the wilderness, that there are no roads or even signs that lead anywhere. Even if you would have a choice, you are not expecting anything good; nothing exciting at all. I’d like to share a few things with you that might change your way of thinking; a powerful insight about understanding your own times and seasons.

We all know that God loves us and that He wants the very best for us no matter what. His desire for us is that we prosper in every area of our life. We want His will to come into our life because that is the very best for us. He created us and placed our gifts and talents on the inside of us and in a way that makes us dependable upon God. By the way, God likes that and it helps us if we like that.

God is all-powerful and unstoppable and holds our times and seasons in His hands. But the thing is that many people relegate the season they are in to God’s sovereignty. Oops! Big mistake! They give everything into God’s hands as if He made us a robot. They leave the breakthrough in their life, or getting their life to a better place up to God. It’s all up to God to heal them whenever He wants it to happen and then they wait for it. They think God wants to teach them a lesson.

Others have said concerning the call that’s on their lives, “When God wants to open a door for me or use me in a certain way, it will just happen.” And they sit and wait and wait and wait.

We are more involved in our destiny and the season and times that we are living in than we realize. You remember when Jesus came to the well and met the Samaritan woman “by accident”? Her life was all messed up and bound in immorality; she knew no way out any more. Here she was, just going about doing her daily tasks like any other day. Here she is at the well and meets this man who knew everything about her life and still wants to talk to her. That was very rare for her. From that day forward her whole life was changed around.

You see, this woman was open to a change in her life and seized the moment so to speak. Her messed-up circumstances made her desperate and longing for a change. Her eyes were opened to who Jesus was and went and told it to everyone in her town. Her season was shifted in one single moment.

There are so many stories and situations in the Bible that show us that when Jesus shows up, things drastically change. I remember in my own life when my husband and I went through a very difficult time in our marriage and we thought that the only way out was a divorce. We were meant for each other, but circumstances and family situations had brought too many hardships, and we just wanted to give up.

But Jesus showed up at a moment we didn’t even know Him yet, but He turned the whole situation around in 1 moment on 1 day. After that, the word “divorce” went out the window which was the best decision we ever made.

Your season can shift with one CHOICE! You see, sometimes we need another person to speak into our life for our life will move forward. But WE have to be willing and we have to be open!

In order to make the right decision that can change your entire life and launch you into your new season, you have to have faith that is produced by clarity of vision. Every fear, every doubt and every distraction must be thrown out of your heart. You must learn to trust yourself and gain confidence and the way you do that is by living out of your spirit, not your soul.

Our emotions, our will and our mind make up our soul; our emotions can drive us away from the path that we need to go. Our thoughts can keep us captive in fear and doubt. Our will can be so passive that we don’t even want to make a choice. That is a bad situation waiting for a disaster to happen. You need to be able to take your will and change gears and tell yourself to get up and create a change in your life.

Engage your will in what YOU want to do and bring all your feelings and stinky thoughts under submission to your will and if you have your will submitted to the will of God; good things are going to happen. God WANTS you to prosper, so whatever you are confident in doing, start doing it! Our will is a powerful thing. If we don’t want to yield to the will of God, nothing is going to happen.

So many people are soul-driven, while God is calling us to be Spirit-led. God speaks into our spirit; He gives us ideas and witty inventions to create wealth. He has empowered us to create wealth. So, let’s engage our will and step up to the plate and do it! Will you do that?

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

 

Share on Tumblr Share
Filed Under: 6 Your Destiny Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How Can You Make That One Choice?

July 22, 2012 by 47 Comments
Share on Tumblr Share

 

 

 

How Can You Make That One Choice?

By Olga Hermans

You are very special to God and He gave you the freedom of choice. So, since God created you and me to make decisions, then we can be sure that He has also given us the proper way to make those decisions.

The gift of free will is one thing that characterizes God as a Father. He gives us His guidelines for life in His Word and then allows us to make our own choices. We have the power to choose a life of blessings or curses. Our future is completely in our hands.
God can’t and won’t make us do anything, and the devil certainly can’t force us into anything we don’t willingly agree to. For this reason, the responsibility for the direction of our lives is in our hands.

Have you ever been in a situation where you wanted to make a choice to do something, but knew deep down in your heart you should be doing the other thing? What do you do in a situation like that? How do you know which choice to make and know that, that is the best choice?

Let’s picture the scales in an old grocery store that were used to weigh out how many ounces of candy were in a bag or something. Both of the scales have a balance point in the center. If the objects on both sides are the same weight, then the sides will balance. If one side is heavier, then that side will go down and the other side will go up. A seesaw on a playground would give the same picture.

If you want to make a quality decision, you must determine the weight or value you will give to those objects you are choosing. Only after doing that, can you decide between the choices. Only then can you say no and choose between the different options that you have, right? You are giving weight or value to the things on the scale. This is a very important step to making a quality decision.
Many times people make important decisions without judging the options, without weighing the positives and negatives, without determining what that decision will mean to them in the long run.

This is a process that goes on all the time even when we might not be aware of it. Let’s have a look at this example of a woman buying a pair of shoes. Her decision to purchase a particular pair of shoes will be determined by what is important to her. It depends on the situation; some determining factors might be color, comfort and style. She might be looking for a color to wear with a particular outfit that she already has.

If she finds shoes in the correct color, she may buy them even if the fit bothers her a little. On the other hand, she may be looking for high heels for a formal occasion. She might try on a pair of shoes that are very comfortable but have low heels.

No matter how comfortable they may be, she will tell the clerk, “No, that’s not what I want.” Even in this ordinary, routine action, she will think the situation through and outweigh one or the other.

It is not difficult to make a decision if one choice greatly outweighs the other. Sometimes though, each of the choices has great value and you have to choose between them.

God told Moses in Ex.3:10 to go to Pharaoh and bring the people of Israel out of Egypt. Moses valued the situation which meant that he honored the situation. He put the choices that he had to make in the balance. His desire to obey God was much greater than the treasure he had in Egypt.

Just because you know what you should do, does not make it easy. And certainly this was not a simple decision for Moses to make. As “The Son of Pharaoh’s Daughter,” Moses held a position of great wealth. He was in the royal line and entitled to an inheritance. He probably knew he would become king himself some day.

Have you ever had to consider giving something up – something you knew you should give up – then you began to think about how much you liked that thing, or how hard you had worked for it or how long it had taken you to get in that position?

Has God ever given you a dream that has caused you to be so excited that you were not able to sleep at night? Then, as time passed without the dream becoming a reality, you may have lost your enthusiasm in pursuing that dream? Perhaps you even questioned whether it was from God in the first place.

Many times our dreams do not become reality because of the decisions we make in our lives. Your course in life depends on the decisions you make. Don’t let your God-given dreams fade away. It is time to dust off your unfilled dreams and go for it!!
Today is a great day to start weighing your choices and to determine to make quality decisions.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Share on Tumblr Share
Filed Under: Making Choices in Life Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,