Enemy Within

Beware of noman more than yourself;

we carryour worst enemies within us.

- CharlesH. Spurgeon

The enemy within knows everything about us.  Our failures, fears and faults.  We have shared the deepest mostintimate parts of our soul with him. He stands at the edge of our sub-consciousness and declares what choiceswe should make.  We can make nomove with his consultation.  Mostof us walk through life, not realizing the grasp of his power, which enslavesus.  His voice is so ingrained, sofamiliar and so comforting, that we seldom think about another way.

This is a mysterious force yet when I talk aboutit with people, they understand it, because we have all experienced it.  It’s the part of us that seems to minimalizeour success and magnify our failures. It drives us to be better then tells us that we should stop because ourefforts will never add up.  “Whoare you to question me?” it demands, and our obedience is almostimmediate. 

“You want to get into shape? Go to church? Makenew friends? Change for the better?” it questions.  Then reminds us of all the times we have tried and failed inthe past.  Quite simply the enemywithin explains how there is comfort found in much simpler pursuits.  “Put it off, watch some more TV, thereis no harm in that.” “Sleep in, you can go to the gym tomorrow morning, you hada rough day yesterday, you deserve the extra sleep.”  He hides his deception in words that sound like he has yourback.

This is not the voice of a friend, yet we listenwillingly. 

There is another voice, calling ever sofaintly. 

It says, “You can change! Go for your dreams! Youare strong!”

Feed that voice.

Starve your doubt.

Start living your life!

Getting Through Winter

In the depth of winter I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer.

- Albert Camus

Change is among us.  The long bleak winter has fought its last battle and the remnants of that occurrence are too scarce to even prove it happened.  The birds are coming back; little sparrows and red bellied Robins.  The squirrels playfully run through the trees, chasing one another.  The days are getting longer, the air is getting warmer and we know that spring will be here soon. 

As we all know, different periods in our lives are often referred as seasons.  Read through the descriptions and try to identify where you are.  Being able to see what season you are in is a good way to identify ways to move to a better season or reinforce attributes to keep you in there.

Summer:

Feeling very content and satisfied in your life. Each passing day is more or less carefree. Working out and eating healthy are done without a second thought.

Autumn:

Perhaps things are going well but the signs of change are obvious; a child getting ready to go off to school, a loved one coming to the end of their life or perhaps a marriage is starting to become more strenuous by each passing day.  Our discipline to fitness is slipping and we start to remember how much we love chocolate chip cookies for breakfast.

Winter:

A very difficult time in life.  Nothing seems to be going right; you feel lonely, depressed, anxious and/or scared.  The gym is being passed up for more sleep and the daily consumption of food is a good reminder why heart disease is the biggest killer in America.  During those times, its good to remember this: you don't have to say in winter forever, start making changes now!

Spring:

The day-to-day difficulties are starting to feel more manageable.  Decision-making comes with less anxiety.  The desire for healthy food and a good workout stir deep (for some its very very very deep, but it's there) within you.  Take full advantage of those quiet desires to make healthy choices because they can do much more for our overall well-being than we can really give credit to.

No matter the season you find yourself in right now, you have the ability to make improvements.  If you are in a summer season, set lofty goals, dream big.  You can achieve much in summer seasons!  If you are in a winter season, set small goals that can easily be obtained.  Reaching small goals in the winter of life is a great way to get that feeling of spring.

Don't let winter make decisions for you, take action.

The Key: Identify attributes of your "summer," then do those things! Continuing to do autumn things will eventually lead to winter, but continually doing winter things doesn't always lead to spring.

Mr. Snowman, defies winter by

 moving to the warmer climate.