How to experience less stress, worry and anxiety in your life

A Needed Paradigm Shift

I would like to share with you what could be a paradigm shift in your understanding of transformation and how to experience it.

In my personal as well as vocational journey, I discovered that what the culture, even Christian culture, around us says about experiencing transformation can really be more of how to cope and manage what we struggle with.

Yes, there is great teaching and self-help books that help us understand an issue we struggle with while helping us to grow in knowing God’s truth.

Self-Effort and Performance Orientation

Yet most resources focus on changing one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors through self-effort and performance orientation. 

What we are left with is striving in our pursuit toward change. Do these type of approaches really produce the type of transformation we long for?

Real change inside…

Just think, what would it be like to really change negative thought patterns and resulting emotions where you no longer had to manage these in your own strength?

Always trying harder and striving yet discovering the struggle remains… The never ending stress...

We tend to perform to receive approval and acceptance from God and others. Pleasing others is one way of achieving this. We can use perfectionism to avoid failure or the above. And try to receive our sense of worth from these things.

There is a better way…

A way to experience lasting change without all the striving and just trying harder in your own strength.

Yes, we still need to make right choices and go after thinking and behaving in ways that are healthy, loving and consistent with Scriptural truths. 

But what would it look like to have God change us from the inside out. To experience that transformation from within…

So let’s continue with Michelle’s story:

And discover how she began to experience lasting change and transformation that addressed her stress, fear of disappointing others and the need to please:

When Michelle reached out for help to address the fear of disappointing others as well as her struggle with the need to please, she discovered there was a way to internalize truth that would dispel these limiting beliefs. 

She discovered that the truths about transformation in the Bible really point to a different way to experience change versus what many of us in our culture understand. 

Like so many, she thought that being transformed by renewing her mind was mostly about what she would do to change the way she thinks. 

The truth is that the verb in this verse and corresponding passages that speak on transformation are in the passive voice meaning God does the action. Let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think (Romans 12:2 NLT)

So what does this mean? And how do we then experience this change in the way we think.

Michelle learned how to position her heart and mind before God to receive and internalize truth from Him in a way that would directly address the stress and limiting beliefs she struggled with.

This was life changing. In fact, it changed everything.

She discovered where she learned she was a disappointment to others and needed to perform for approval. These limiting beliefs impacted every relationship including her relationship with God.

As God revealed the truth in her heart and mind, she was able to let go of these limiting beliefs and believe His truth.

Michelle began to experience more peace than she ever had.

There was a calmness...

There wasn’t a need to strive for approval and please others to get this need met. She was free to love, care and help others from a place of freedom. 

This type of freedom is available for you as well. 

I encourage you to refer to the previous blog post that shared how you can create quiet space free of distractions to begin hearing and sensing God in a way that will deepen your relationship with Him.

And help with the stress, overwhelm and worry that so many of us manage throughout our days.

Stay tuned to receive more encouragement in Your Transformational Journey