MINDSET

For “Who has known the MIND of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the MIND of Christ – 1 Corinthians 2:16

Other terms for ‘attitude’ are the words MINDSET and Mentality. All three refer to your mental disposition, perception, way of thinking, belief systems, the way you view things, the way you handle issues in your mind, your thought habits or patterns. Your mindset is your habitual pattern of thoughts. The undeniable reality of life is that you are being transformed into your habitual pattern of thoughts. Your mindset – the way your mind is “set” – ultimately becomes the way your life is set! The man Job said, “For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me” (Job 3:23). His dominant mindset of Fear materialized to terrorize his destiny. In contrast, Jabez expressed his dominant mindset of Faith in prayers, and God hearkened, turning his life around for the best (1Chr.4:9-10). Your dominant mindset will make or mar your future. Perhaps more than anything else, your mindset steers the voyage of your life.

Your mindset determines the possibilities of stagnation, deceleration or acceleration, and reaching your desired destination. Attitude determines achievement. Mindset defines Movement. Your mentality conditions your environment. Most of what you will accomplish in life depends upon your mindset. An average or mediocre mindset leads to average and mediocre results. In the same way, developing an extraordinary mindset will allow you to achieve extraordinary results in your life. For example, zeal is great, but your mindset will determine how far zeal thrives. Being zealous will help you persevere and overcome some obstacles. But it’s a sad fact that many people who start something out of zeal give up after a few setbacks. Zeal is only part of the achievement equation. The remaining part is your MINDSET or ATTITUDE. You need to develop a mindset that keeps you motivated and sustains your momentum, rather than struggling with limiting mindsets.

There are some kinds of mindset that make it harder to achieve goals, reach your destination, and be fulfilled in life. Identifying your current mindset will enable you to know in what aspects you require mind renewal, attitudinal adjustment or mentality transformation. For example, a Victim Mindset dilutes and weakens human potential. By not accepting personal responsibility for one’s circumstances, a ‘victim-minded’ person greatly reduces the power to change them. Taking full responsibility in all areas of life is extremely important. Such was the case with the ten spies who went along with Joshua and Caleb to search out Canaan. They observed exactly the same things that the Victor-minded two did, but perceived themselves and the rest of Israel as victims – “grasshoppers” – and ended up as such (Num.13:34). Their victim mindset and grasshopper mentality truncated their destinies prematurely. The difference between the two sets of spies was in two simple words: NOT and WELL. The victims were “NOT able” (v.32), while the Victors were “WELL able” (v.31).

There is a divine Agenda and Plan for your life. The world that God has programmed for you is encoded in your heart and developed by your mind. Everything you need is in your mind. Remember: “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we may ask or think according to the power that works IN us” (Eph.3:20). God’s power will work IN you to produce that which surpasses your requests or thoughts. Stop focusing on the outside world and learn to focus on your inner world instead. As you allow God to continue working on the inside, your environment will change. Your new attitudes, mindsets, and behavior will influence the people around you, and your new perspectives will attract new people in your life. When you change your mindset, the world around you does, too. What is your dominant Mindset? Are you Victim-minded or Victor-minded? Discard negative mindsets that keep you stuck and embrace one that is God-centered!