February 23 If You Remove A Stop Sign, Will People Still Stop?

You have probably heard the saying if you think you can or cannot, then your right. Our minds are powerful. They are either being restrictive, which keeps us where we are or they are not. When not restricted we can grow differently.

If you can think it, or think of it, just as if it were already here, it can probably be done. In business, we use our planning capabilities to think about what can be done. What will make the future a better place and provide more value?

We focus on the value even if our product or service is about a negative result that people encounter. Take a flood for example. The flood waters eventually recede and then the building begins again. Some areas wind up building their homes using stilts.

That is forward thinking and making the best of a possibly bad situation. But to be the messenger can be difficult. If some suggestion is not the old way, what is normally done, that kind of message can be difficult to give and to receive.

It may seem strange but sometimes our brain is comfortable staying stuck. It may stay focused on the negative and focused on what was. How do you share a message of yes we can do something new? It takes a different kind of approach and attitude to bring others along. 

In Mark 6:30-56, we read two stories about positive thinking and I highlight one here. The first was Jesus' first feeding story in Mark. As Jesus and the disciples approach the shore and get out, they are met by a large crowd.

The disciples believe and think it is too late in the day to do anything, so they want Jesus to dismiss the crowd. He advises them however, to feed the crowd. He gives them instructions of how to do it by breaking down the crowd into groups, and then assigning tasks.

The seemingly impossible mission is accomplished with only five loaves of bread and two fish. The disciples’ thinking, their assumptions, and beliefs were challenged. This was not the first time that Jesus had shared a transformation of what was versus what can be.

They were shown that if you think it can be, you are probably right. The path of a transformation rarely looks the way that we had envisioned it in a stuck perspective. A pit of quicksand looks differently when you are stuck in the middle of it then standing safely on the edge.

Where are we allowing our thoughts of what cannot be, to keep us from making progress for our faith, families, our businesses, and for our personal growth? Would you change the first "cannot" in your business or faith? What is the first step you can take in the next seven days?

Let us pray, Heavenly Father, you are the Creator. Anything that you want to bless you will and that includes those things which we think cannot be blessed. May the cannot of this world be transformed to a blessing of can. May the unforgivable be forgiven.

May the unreliable be reliable. May the unlovable be loved. May the unmovable be moved. Send your transforming spirit to guide us so that we might draw closer to you. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen,