You don’t remember your first day on this earth. You can’t recall how fast the car drove to the hospital, the anxiety of the adults who were with you or the physical pain that one of them had to endure. But eventually there you were – a new you – brought into this world through the miracle of childbirth.
That would be the only physical birth you would ever have. Someone once asked Jesus whether or not they could enter their mother’s womb a second time and be born again. Of course, that’s silly to even think about. It’s a wonder the question was even asked. No second physical birth is possible.
However, in many other ways we can be reborn. There can be a new you.
It may not be easy to change your habits, lifestyle or beliefs. Lots of work may lie ahead. But, whatever your dream or desire, of this you can be sure – you will never make it unless you do this one thing first.
Hope for the New Year
As I write this, the calendar is turning to a new year – 2018 to be exact. And for many, the new year brings new hopes, new dreams and new aspirations. Our lives are being reborn – or being rejuvenating if you will – as we anticipate what lies ahead in the coming weeks and months.
Implicit in our thinking is the idea that what lies ahead for us will be better than what we’ve just been through. Even if 2017 exceeded all your expectations, you still hope this calendar year will be better. No one greets January 1 by saying, “I hope this is the worst year ever.”
Hopes, dreams and aspirations provide us with mental pictures of what is possible. However, they are not the key ingredient that turns pictures into reality. There is a first step that is required before you can really embark on a new path to a new you this year.
If you want to create a new you, then you will have to start by being honest.
A New You Requires Honesty
If you are to forge a path to a new you this year, it’s going to require you do something you really don’t want to do. You are going to have to be honest with yourself.
Generally speaking, it’s in our nature to reject honesty. Instead, we’d rather hide. We rationalize and deflect. We make excuses and point fingers at others. And in our worst moments, we scheme, out-and-out lie and abandon all reasonably explanations for our behavior rather than be honest.
I’m not sure why it’s so hard to look in the mirror and be honest with ourselves. Maybe it’s because we don’t like what we’ve become. Perhaps we didn’t live up to ours or somebody’s expectations. Maybe the pain is too deep, the challenge too great or the boundaries too wide.
Whatever the reason for our lack of honesty, I do honestly know this – you won’t find your way to a new you unless you face the truth.
How Honesty Helps Create a New You
So often we can’t move forward and be reborn because we get stuck in the cycles I described above. Denial, guilt, excuses, etc. are powerful forces that hold us back. They hinder us from the rejuvenation we want deep down inside.
Honesty, though, is the great equalizer. It brings truth out of the darkness and into the light. It accepts responsibility and punctures guilt. Honesty keeps us from making excuses for ourselves. It guides us passed our failings, accepts us for who we are and give us hope that something better rests on the other side.
Being honest is the first step to a new you. Once you are honest, then you can figure out how to do that thing, or get that thing or conquer that thing. Without honesty, the pursuit of that thing will be subject to failure after failure. In the end, you can’t really win because your striving isn’t supported by the truth of the situation.
So what would you like to change? Better relationships? An improved financial outlook? Break a bad habit? Find that spiritual connection you’ve always been looking for?
Make this the year when a new you bursts onto the scene. Put the past behind you and be reborn. It can be done. And an honest evaluation of yourself can start the journey.
P.S. It may be you need a good friend to help you be honest with yourself. Facing our difficulties is tough. Find someone to help you. Give a friend permission to point out things you might not know or wish to see in yourself. And then don’t get mad at them for speaking the truth. You should love them more for caring so much and having the courage to share those things with you.
Questions for Discussion: Are you longing for a new you to be reborn? What’s holding you back? Beyond honesty, what steps do you need to take right now to change your situation?
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