RETHINK 2021: SUM & STREAMLINE

RETHINK 2021:
SUM & STREAMLINE
Make 4 separate columns across a page:
Pay Progress Passions Purpose
——
Focal Verse:
For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago (Ephesians 2:10).
Points of Consideration:

• God wants to take the totality of your life – the sum – and then streamline your time, talents, and thinking.

• When you focus on your (past) backstory, your (changing) life story, there’s no room for comparison or trying to be or be like anyone else.

A dear friend asked me a while back if I compared myself to anyone else. I
was thankful for this question as my answer revealed that on every level –
physically, life experiences, educational background, passions, family –
I’m at complete peace in living the life God has given me.
[Identity Unveiled book – shares the struggles in getting to this point]

• When you take a reflective and meditative look at your life, to live with purpose is motivating [retirement is a non-issue; you don’t stop living
  with purpose because you aren’t earning a paycheck!] When you’re motivated, you’re less likely to burn out. Be careful, though:
  Boundaries are always needed for proper self care.
  Know when to turn it off!
  Know when to walk away!
  Know when to disconnect!
  Know when to recharge!
  Know when to say no!
  Overworking with no boundaries is NOT a badge. Even good things you love to do, if carried to an extreme, can become a liability. No one else will put up your boundaries; only you can do that.

• To streamline your life simplifies your life!

You are okay with saying “no” to those things that take up physical and
mental energy because – as you will see – you have specifically detailed
the things in your life that give you passion and purpose.
Let’s get to the life coaching assessment!

Column 1- PAY:

1. Using a Likert scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied are you with your job?

[1 – not satisfied at all; 10 – extremely satisfied] 2. Do your passions and purpose provide a paycheck?
If yes, that is fabulous! If not, that is okay. It simply means that you need
to be intentional about looking for other opportunities or venues for doing
so [think “both/and”].
**Parenting: A word of caution about steering your children into areas of study they dislike or don’t excel in. Don’t live vicariously through them!

Column 2 – PROGRESS:

1. What area(s) of your life would you like to see progress?

I prefer this word to the worn out “goal”….
a. Health?

b. Relationships?

c. Thought life?

d. Sleep?

e. Reading?

f. Career?

g. Spiritual life? [not doing, but growing in relationship :)]

2. What is a manageable step in making progress? A manageable step is a small, realistic step from where you are now in that particular area and setting your sights on how you would like to improve or where you
would ideally like to be, all the while making incremental steps to that
larger goal.

[Ex. food journal, deleting the main culprit in the diet; exercise – movement; sleep schedule; knowing when to “turn off” work even though you have the capability to keep doing more; thought life working for you or against you {paying attention to self talk; reading 15 minutes a day; the next step in your career; how can you take steps
toward God this year?]

3. Remember to reward yourself if you’re creating a new, healthier habit.

[coffee with a friend, a new outfit, etc., not a sabotaging behavior!]

This is known as positive reinforcement. You are positively reinforcing
a new behavior until it becomes habitual.

Column 3 – PASSIONS:

1. Do you live from your values?

When you do, there’s congruence between internal values with external
activities. In other words, are your values in alignment with your day to day routine and your schedule?
If not, you will sense a disconnect in what matters most to you and how these important things are meeting needs deep within your soul.

*If you need a values assessment, please email me at hopeunveiled@gmail.com.

2. What do you love to do? Is there something new for you to try?

[Ex. husband mentioning a new passion he would like to pursue in his retirement; me – piano, crochet]

Value in learning something new for the brain – neuroplasticity – creating new neural connections.
Be creative: dancing, photography, gardening, decorating, playing an instrument, learning something new regarding technology, etc.]

3. If you’re retired, how can you now implement and incorporate your
passions for fulfillment and serving others?

4. Does your love language intersect with your passions?
[free online assessment]

For me, yes! Words of Affirmation. This is what I do through written
and spoken word – encouraging others through the use of words!

Column 4 – PURPOSE:

I’d like to circle back to the verse I mentioned at the start of the podcast:
Are you doing the good things that God planned for you to do long ago, before the foundation of the world?
If you feel as though you aren’t – and that’s okay! – you can begin to ponder the following questions that may help you in doing so!
Here are life coaching questions to guide you:

1. What are the painful life experiences you have lived through?

Have you “hidden” this part of your life? If so, why is that?

[Ex. Person who had major trauma never spoke publicly for 26 years.]

[Twitter – millennials writing books about their story]

2. Could it be that your purpose to reflect God’s glory in your life is to
share your story? There is no shame in sharing! The most important thing to remember is that your story is not for you; it’s to reveal God’s glory
in your life that, ultimately, is to help others.
This is the entire point of my book Identity Unveiled. When we mishandle life’s disappointments, we can spend a lifetime walking in the wrong identity because we interpret those experiences to be wrapped up
in whether we are valued or worthy from self interpretation, and that is simply not the case. Our default thinking tells us that we have messed up somehow. Our worth, value, and identity are determined from our Creator, separate and apart from any of life’s disappointing or
traumatic events. Cognitively, you need to make the distinction between
what has occurred in your life as a distinction from who you are. You are not your experience.

Dr. Seuss: “When something bad happens you have three choices. You
can either let it define you, destroy you, or you can let it strengthen you.”

God says more than that: Your worth is determined because of who you
are – a daughter or son of the King of Kings.

Could it be that your purpose is actually the byproduct from your pain,
and that this particular event is what is meant for you, of all people, to
make a dramatic impact on the lives of other people because you, of all
people, can offer hope on the other side of having walked through that life event?

In Change Unveiled, I wrote a chapter on “Fulfillment” – same as “Purpose” – where I encourage the reader to do two things:

Surrender (the pain) to God + See (what He does). God is responsible for outcome! [See Romans 8:28]

You will never know what God can do with your painful life experience
if you keep holding on to it!
If you have lived through something painful, I can guarantee that that has
ignited a passion of some kind.[Ex. caregiving left me with a passion for proactivity in my own life and in helping others]

3. Have you needed to change the way you think about life? I did. Nothing
like a crisis of some kind for you to stop in your tracks to contemplate if
your view of life through the lens of lies or the lens of truth.

Your life is most certainly shaped by your thoughts, and knowing the truth is transformative!

I’ve always said – and still believe – that we get into trouble when our belief system about God, ourselves, or others isn’t based on scriptural truth.
The truth will set you free, but you must first identity what you’re believing to be true that is actually a lie!
That’s the silver lining of a crisis of any kind – it can transform your belief system and realign your (internal) beliefs with what is actually based on truth.
Case in point: Job … That life is *supposed* to go a certain way.

4. What are your 10 beliefs about life?

Are these beliefs based on scriptural
truth or simply what you assume to be true about how life works?

Challenge these specific beliefs if you find that what you believe isn’t
lining up with the reality of what you see happening in your life.

To realign your beliefs can realign your life!

In summary, I hope that these four categories and the questions posed will help you identify the purpose – your purpose – for God putting you on this planet at this point in time.
Are you living out the purpose He has destined for you? Only you? I hope so!
Remember: You haven’t asked for your purpose; it’s God’s calling on your life to reveal His glory in your life!
I didn’t ask for my story, but I’m now using it to as a platform to share and show your value and worth isn’t about your life experiences, but how to walk in the God-given identity you were meant to have!
Daughter of a king of kings….
Daughter of THE King of Kings
Book and Podcast by the same name: Identity Unveiled: Daughter of the King of Kings as found on Amazon and any podcast directory.
Until next time, this is Shirene Gentry with the Identity Unveiled podcast.