I just read a fascinating article today. According to research done by Dr. Edward Miller, the dean of the medical school and CEO of the hospital at Johns Hopkins University, the odds against change are nine to one! Their study involved heart-bypass patients. Even with their life on the line, only 10% of those patients changed their lifestyle to avoid a possible relapse! That means, out of ten, nine of these patients will revert back to their former lifestyles once they are fully recovered - back to bad eating, no exercise, etc.
The question is why? Conventional wisdom would say that a crisis is a strong motivator of change! But neurologists and psychologists are making fascinating discoveries about change. Here are a few of the insights:
A compelling vision of the future is a much stronger motivator of change than a negative fear of something bad happening!
Here's my take, heaven is more motivating than hell. Romans 2:4 the real motivation for change: "His kindnes leads us toward repentance." In other words, when God wants to change us he doesn't threaten us. He doesn't use fear tactics. He's entices us with his kindness. He pours His mercy on our lives. He gives us grace. And when we are overwhelmed by His kindness, we want to change more because of Him and His kindness then anything else.
One myth of change is that the facts will set us free. But our thinking isn't guided by facts. It's controlled by narratives. Change isn't sustained intellectually. It is sustained emotionally. We need compelling reasons that emotionally charge us. And it can't be someone else's reasons. It's got to be reasons we have processed and taken emotional ownership ourselves!
Another fascinating myth is that small gradual changes are easier to make and sustain. The truth is that radical sweeping changes are easiest and most sustainable! That is fascinating. Incremental change rarely works because we can't see sufficient results. I think radical repentance--like burning the books in Acts 19 or burning the plowing equipment in I Kings 19 - is the best way to sustain change. You have to "burn the boats" so turning back isn't even an option.
So you want to CHANGE?
Get a vision for the future. See yourself 5 to 10 years down the road. Ask God for a vision of what He wants you to be then. Beacsue VISION is a strnger motivator of change then the fear of something bad happening to you.
Seek to take ownership of biblical truths. Get a conviction. Let those truths move from an intectual level to an emotional level. Make those truths your own. Value them as yours, personally.
When you plan to change, make radical decisions - like completely (and not gradually) cut sugar out of your diet or engage a trainer and make advance payments to commit yourself for exercises.
The good news is that neurologists have discovered that our brains retain plasticity throughout our lifetimes. In other words, it's never too late to change.
