ALTERED MIND: THE CHAMPION'S PLAYGROUND!

ALTERED MIND: THE CHAMPION’S PLAYGROUND. By FELIX N.JARIKRE

 SCRIPTURAL ANCHOR: ROM.12:2

Dr. Paul Wood, a 37 years old New Zealand personal performance coach, was 18 ,and heavily addicted to drugs, when his mother died from cancer. Two days later, his drug dealer, a 42 years old man, made an unmistakable attempt to sexually molest him. In a defensive reaction, Paul killed the older man with a softball bat. He was arrested and jailed with a 10-year sentence. He remained  violent and abusive until he met a man in prison who got him into reading books. Staking his claim for a stronger ambition, free from drug addiction, he went on to earn two degrees in psychology from Massey University. He left jail with his PhD almost completed.

This man’s story tells us there’s no limit to what we can achieve if we accept the responsibility to renew or alter our mind. To know what we are capable of achieving, you must alter the state of your  mind. Yes, you may have made some costly mistakes in your past out of a faulty sense of judgement .You may have locked yourself in a prison of self-limitations because you felt your personal history is a litany of serial failures, bust-ups, joblessness, hopeless drug-addiction, marital break-ups and recycled afflictions. But there’s no law that says you should resign yourself to a life of despair. You can abandon your tale of gloom-and-doom. True, you can re-write your story to align with the purpose of God , and watch your life transform from zero to heroic proportions. When you feel disadvantaged, and think that you have been dealt a cruel hand of fate because of the series of disappointments you suffered, you simply give the devil, your crafty adversary, the leverage to feed you the bitter pills of depression. Today, you must reject depression and say hello to joy!!  The good news is that you have not only the responsibility, but also the capacity to change and grow into the valuable person you are meant to be. So never make the allowance for your ugly past to define your future. Re-frame your story, and celebrate your capability!  Your failure is not terminal. Like Dr. Paul Wood, the focus of our letter today, your mess can become your message, instead of a silent grave-yard where crashed dreams are furtively buried. A wise man said: ‘ Failure is an event, not a person.’  Our  scriptural anchor  says you are transformed/transfigured when your mind is altered or renewed. That tells me again that your character is not static, cast in stone, but it is transitional. Yes, the sinner of yesterday can become the saint of tomorrow. You can transform from a weakling or loser into a champion who achieve extraordinary feats. Welcome to the Champion’s Playground!