I Am Who God Says I Am

I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM

      The first time someone referred to me as a blogger, I pretty much chalked it up as a misunderstanding. I was reading a friend's blog and she mentioned a project that she was planning to do in the new year with a fellow blogger. I knew we had just had a meeting about a project we planned to do together in the new year…but she couldn’t possibly be talking about me. I'm not a blogger, yet, am I? I had only been blogging a little over a month!

      Then a few weeks later this same friend invited me to attend a blog party…Wait, who me? This must be a misunderstanding. I’m still learning.  Despite the fear of making a complete fool of myself, I was still excited to go, especially, with a “real” blogger.  My excitement quickly faded when I got the dreaded message…"I won’t be able to make it. I doubt my husband will make it home in time." Noooooooo…Ok now what!?! After a super intense pep talk with myself and my husband, I decided to go alone.  I convinced myself that it would be a great networking and learning opportunity.  I quickly logged onto the computer to reserve my ticket.   I didn't want to leave too much time to talk myself out of it.  The Eventbrite loads on the computer screen. Choose: I'm a blogger, I'm a blog reader, I’m a Choose Civility Alliance Partner.  I stared at that screen for a good 5 minutes…do I click it…do I click it…Yes!  I AM A BLOGGER!  

      Wow!  I did it!  I went to the event and had an awesome time.  I bravely went up to strangers and introduced myself. "Hi, I’m Jamie and I am a blogger," over and over again. And the more I said it, the more comfortable I became with my new title.  I realized that I may have never said it out loud before, but, I was a blogger from the very first day that I wrote my very first blog in the front seat of my husband's car (Read my first blog post "It’s Official").

      Don’t let fear stand in the way of sharing with the world what and who you truly are.  For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. (2 Timonthy 1:7).   Remember God told YOU His vision for your life.  Don’t let what others may say or think discourage you.  Go forth in confidence. God has equipped you with everything you need to fulfill His purpose for you in this moment.  And He will place the right people, experiences and opportunities in your life for you to continue to grow and learn in preparation to fulfill the purpose He plans for you in the next moment.  

      Standing in that promise, I can confidently say, I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM.  If he told me, I am a blogger then...Act like a blogger. Speak like a blogger. Think like a blogger. Once you BELIEVE what God has placed in your heart the rest of the world will follow.  Who is God telling you, you are? Act like it. Speak like it. Think like it. BELIEVE IT!

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and Twitter @jamielifecoach

Just Do It

     We are all familiar with Nike's famous phrase, “Just Do It", coined in the late 80s during an ad campaign. Well it stuck and has stood the test of time in more ways than one.  The "Just Do It" slogan has transcended beyond athletes, fitness, and exercise and evolved into a personal mantra that has been adopted by many everyday people who aspire to achieve ANY goal.  

    When these three short words are strung together they make a profound statement.  They are great motivators. They make just doing it seem like such a simple concept to implement.  But oftentimes we stand in our own way.  The 3 major reasons that have stood in between me just doing it and accomplishing my goals are:

• Fear of Failure - This is probably the most common blocker that stands in the way of us reaching our goals. It hurts when we set out to do something and it doesn’t work out the way that we think it should.  Frequently, we spend so much time avoiding the dreaded feelings of failure that we don’t even attempt to aim for success. But what if you had the power to change how you think about failure?  The good news is you do! What is failure anyway? You define the meaning of success.   

"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas Edison

• Overthinking - When attempting to do something new, I am all about consulting the “experts”.  I tend to research way too much.  I spend tons of energy and time in trying to become as close to an “expert” as possible before moving forward. Lately, I have adopted a more "learn as I go" approach to help balance things out. I’ve realized I actually enjoy the experience much better that way. For example, I recently decided to join Twitter.  Do I know all the hashtag rules and shortcuts of Twitter? No! Have I mastered how to get my point across in 140 characters or less? No! But I have managed to say enough to attract a whopping 215 followers and enjoy the journey while I’m learning.

"Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do" - John Wooden"

• Stuck in First Gear - It’s great to know exactly what it is that you are trying to accomplish but completely focusing on the end goal at times can be a overwhelming.  It’s easy to fall into the trap of the goal seeming so large you spin your wheels just trying to figure out how to start.  Last year, I decided I was going to run my first 5k.  This goal seemed almost impossible when thinking of running 3 miles when I couldn’t even run to the end of the block.  C25K (Couch to 5k) is a mobile app that does a great job breaking the goal down into smaller steps. Each day you do a series of walk/run intervals that increase over time.  So everyday I didn’t let completing a 5K consume me.  I just needed to focus on completing my workout for that day and rest in that it was getting me one step closer to running 3 miles. By the end of my 9 weeks…SURPRISE…I was able to run a 5k!  

"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." - Lao Tzu

      So you know that thing that you have been waiting to do…get out of first gear, stop overthinking, and don't let fear or any other blocker stand in your way.  In other words..act like a tennis shoe and JUST DO IT!

For a daily dose of inspiration

Connect with me on FB www.facebook.com/thepurposepages 
and Twitter @jamielifecoach