A New Self in 90 Days, a real possibility
“Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” -Mark Twain
I can’t entirely agree with much of what Mark Twain said, but the quote above is undoubtedly right on course. One of the greatest regrets of those at the end of life is that they wished they had done what they wanted to do in life rather than what others expected of them. It is easy to travel down the wrong road in life simply by following what others are doing. It is hard to go against the strong opinions of those closest to us. Taking charge of your life requires courage, which is in your best interest.
Jim Rohm, one of the world’s greatest proponents of personal development, once said, “If someone is going down the wrong road, he doesn’t need motivation to speed him up. What he needs is education to turn him around.” A New Life in 90 Days” teaches you how to turn your life around and head you in the right direction. Its purpose is to present a superior model for living, including a paradigm change in how you view and live life. “A New Self in 90 Days” objective is to improve in life’s five most important disciplines; the approach is the direct opposite of just wishing your life were different and more manageable.
We live in a period when many seek quick and easy results. Regardless of its kind, personal growth is not quick; it is challenging. It is the opposite of easy; it takes a lot of hard work and self-discipline over a long period, but you can do it as millions of others have. However, you cannot achieve this unless you are willing to put forth the effort. Achievement without effort is a myth.
There are two universal principles behind Christian Personal Development:
Loving God: Loving God is more than mouthing the words. It requires the presence of God’s glory in your life, including His agape love, which results in two things:
- Consistency in reading and studying the Bible, honoring God, and living a dedicated life undergirded with prayer.
- Character building daily through sanctification, committed to God and His work in your life to make you into the person He created you to be.
Loving Self: Loving self is the first requirement for loving others. God loved us enough to sacrifice his son to rescue us from sin’s grip and pay the penalty of sin, which is eternal death. The Bible says, “For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul,” Mark 8:36 (KJV). According to that verse, your soul (who you are) is more valuable than the entire world with all its gold, silver, money, real estate, and everything else. Each person’s life has a purpose; discovering that purpose is essential to becoming the new self. Loving oneself is how the architect designed and created us. How can we love others if we do not love ourselves? Loving others is a natural response to having God’s love inside. According to the Bible, God’s love resides inside when we love others.
Concerning these principles are Dedication, respect for authority, truth opposed to falsehood, courage, health, finances, relationships, and much more. By the end of 90 days, you will have gained a new insight into what is most beneficial in life. Instead of an aimless life, you will become more focused. You will learn to use your unique self-expression to advance your career, achieve inspiring goals, attract meaningful relationships, develop positive daily habits, and be genuinely excited and enthusiastic about life. These are the things involved in developing character and are the things that can be achieved in the next 90 days.
The development of character is more valuable than what we do and is the opposite of the current world philosophy. The world today is focused on accomplishments. Becoming a better person has taken a back seat or even kicked off the bus. Why is becoming a better person more valuable than what a person does? It fills a need that accomplishment cannot, the need to respect oneself, others and live in peace.
Character building today is referred to as personal development. Many have begun to recognize the importance of personal development in everyday life. Some have paid personal development guru Tony Robbins upward of a million dollars to learn his secrets of personal growth. It is a proven fact that character enhances the probability of success in any given field. As Jim Rohm said, “We attract success by the person we become.”
Ironically, the singularly best personal development expert is free. God knows everything there is to know about character building and its value. Personal development is His goal for everyone who believes in Him. While God’s goal is the transformation of our inner lives, He also wants to bless us abundantly with magnificent, tangible gifts, such as food, clothing, and shelter, and sometimes He gives us the desires of our hearts. At some point, many center their attention on things rather than on God, who gives all things. Therefore, we quench the inner transforming work of the Spirit. When we focus on material things rather than Spiritual ones, we forfeit the joy and peace we have in our relationship with God.
While God’s plan differs from that of Tony Robbins and other secular personal development experts, it accomplishes many of the same things. Let us be clear that any kind of personal development is beneficial. Anytime any person improves by becoming a better person, it is helpful for all involved.
Nevertheless, the fundamental difference between personal secular development and personal spiritual development is that personal development is self-improvement and improves how you do things. Spiritual, personal development is God’s work to transform your inner life, changing you into a new self. According to Ephesians 4:22-24, we must put on a “new self.” What does that mean? It means exactly what it says — to exchange the old self for the new self, that is, putting away the old ways of living in sin for the new creation, which we who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ are. Let’s look at the context, how we can put on a “new self,” and why it is so important that we do. An excellent example of transformation is the Geometer caterpillar. There are about 35,000 different kinds of this little creature. It starts its life as an unusual-looking worm with several legs on the front and back of its body and none in the middle. It inches along, its center bowed high in the air, munching on leaves. Later in its life, there is a transformation that takes place. It turns into a moth and flies away to a new life. We may not ordinarily think of moths as beautiful, but some gorgeous ones have unique colors. The transformation from a lowly worm to a beautiful flying creature is a remarkable kind of transformation. So is God’s purpose in the life of His children, which is changing their lives from mundane existence to something entirely different and beautiful.
If God does the transformation, why is a book like “A New Self in 90 Days” necessary? Why not just sit back and let God do the work? The reason is that God never forces His change on us. He only uses what we commit to Him. There are many facets of our existence, many of which we are hardly aware. Realizing our areas of need comes first, and then turning them over to God for His transforming work comes next. For example, say that I am short on the ability to form lasting relationships; although I am not entirely void of that ability, I need to know what the skill includes before I can improve. As I become aware of the many aspects of building a relationship, I can commit those areas in which I am weak to God, but I must also cooperate with God to bring about the desired results. Faith in God is not merely passive. According to the Apostle Paul, it requires active trust and obedience: “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God,” II Corinthians 7:1 (KJV).
The Biblical principle for becoming a new self is sanctification, which is ‘the state of proper functioning.’ To sanctify someone or something is to set the person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is “sanctified” when used to write. Eyeglasses are ‘sanctified’ when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when used for the purpose intended. Therefore, a human being is sanctified when he or she lives according to God’s design and purpose” -Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology.
Christian personal development sets one apart from what they now are and transforms them into what God intended them to be before sin entered the human race. Sanctification is a submission to God, who is the potter and we the clay. He is the one who forms us into the new person that we long to be and the new life that we long to live.
Many who claim to have experienced this transformation indeed show little evidence of it in their life. The reason for that is that they remain at the starting position. The renewal is a beginning; from there, it is a gradual completion of our full potential. It is personal development with a twist; instead of being of self, it is of God.
Love is the foundation of the internal transformation process. The more one is committed to God’s work of personal growth, the more God’s love shines through life and the stronger the foundation of love becomes. “For no other foundation can a man lay than what is laid, which is Jesus Christ,” I Corinthians 3:11 (KJV). When Jesus, who is God, becomes the foundation of our life, His love controls our thoughts and actions. Instead of focusing on getting, the focus is on giving, and by giving, we receive. Christian character is not a self-help parody; it forms the core of a person’s existence. It is a dedication to a paradigm change in the way you live. It is dedicating yourself to something valuable and eternal.