“Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.” – I Corinthians 10:12 NKJV

In life, we have to be careful not to fall into the trap of pride that is destructive, ruins lives and destroys dreams. Pride is a belief that says, “I’m better than others. I don’t need any help; I can do it by myself.” Insecurity is the root of many unhealthy behaviors. It provokes us to want the lavish praise and attention of others too much. Much of pride is motivated out of one’s unmet need for self-worth. A person with little to no self-confidence will tend to look down on others and their faults. Pride clouds your judgment and it doesn’t allow you to see things the way they really are. We begin to make decisions based on our insecurities instead of the truth. One way to insure we don’t become prideful and experience its’ destructive force is to be thankful, learn to appreciate what we have and be honest with ourselves. We should recognize our shortcomings and work on becoming more secure about ourselves. Don’t entertain thoughts that will compare us to others.

Just a Thought,
PSS
Legacychurch.com

There is a healthy pride and pride that is destructive. Healthy pride is when you have good self-esteem and are at times proud of your accomplishments, such as being proud of your children. These things are good and you should be proud of these types of things. The pride that is destructive thinks they’re better than someone else, looks down on others and compares themselves to others. Healthy pride, according to Webster’s Dictionary, is a “sense of personal satisfaction; self-respect, self-sufficiency, happiness, joy and self-esteem. This is, and will remain, healthy as long as we keep it in perspective and we remain grateful and appreciative in our attitude. We may not have everything we want, but we can be appreciative for the things we have.

Healthy pride stems from being obedient to Christ, not from trying to find out how much you can get away with. People are constantly looking for ways to get out of doing what they should be doing or pushing the limits on how much they can get away with. This isn’t good. When you have healthy pride:

You will sleep better.
You will have freedom in your thoughts.
There’s no more guilt over what you did wrong.
There’s no feeling like you’re a failure.

A good self-esteem that is grateful is healthy.

Just a Thought,
PSS
Legacychurch.com

Courage is about overcoming the unknown or stepping into the unknown. People are held back from their dreams at times because they lack the courage to step out. Sometimes, it’s because they’re afraid to fail. Everyone in life fails at some point. No one succeeds at everything. Failure can be a positive thing sometimes. It can teach you what not to do and what you should do the next time. If you haven’t failed at something, you haven’t lived life. You exist, but live below your potential. People who have accomplished quite a bit have had setbacks that they have learned from. The lesson is learned, and then they move forward and give it a go. Courage is that ingredient that will cause you to move forward, to get up, live and dream again. Whatever that step is for you, I encourage you to rise up and truly believe. Let’s learn from our mistakes and go forward.

Just a Thought,
PSS
Legacychurch.com

In order to emotionally grow and mature, we must constantly make inward adjustments about our thinking. If we stay the same and don’t adjust, nothing will change or improve. We won’t grow in any area of our lives unless we are learning new things. Someone once told me that we should learn something new every day. Read and learn something every day so that it can help us develop and become what God wants us to become. We must learn to become emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually healthy. This will insure success in all areas of our lives. By making inward adjustments, we improve our lives and the lives of those around us, like our friends, family and co-workers.

What we will find along life’s journey is that we’ll be happier and more fulfilled. By growing and developing and practicing the things we learn, we become stronger and healthier, and the quality of our relationships will begin to improve. It’s up to us to grow and develop by continually making adjustments along this journey called life.

Just a Thought,
PSS
Legacychurch.com

Every day, we wake up to new challenges and a world that offers no guarantees. How we face these challenges that are sure to come, determines how much joy we experience in our lives, and our attitude is the key.

Webster’s dictionary defines attitude as “a manner of acting, feeling, or thinking that shows one’s disposition of opinion.” How you feel and think about something determines your outlook on life and circumstances. Is the glass half empty or half full? One of my own affirmations in life is “I wake up happy and full of energy everyday”. Why is this important? Because I realize how important my attitude is so that I can see solutions to problems, I can see hope, and see opportunities that will benefit my family and myself.

A bad attitude will always work against you. It will limit your success, your opportunities and will only make things worse. A good attitude is always prepared to see the good, experience hope and clearly see the opportunities ahead of you. It’s your choice and you are in charge of your attitude.

Just a Thought,

PSS

Legacychurch.com