by JENNIFER GOODSON, MA, LMHC
When you are at a place where you’ve come out of being weak and are allowing the process of healing to take place on the inside of you – the broken parts – it is critical to guard your body, mind, and spirit against the snares of temptation back to the old you.
Why? Because the weak moments will come, and when they do, you want to be able to walk right past them, not give in to them. Because that one weak moment, the one time of giving in, could very well be the moment that brings destruction to you and those around you. That one moment could be when you lose everything that you’re fighting so hard to move through. Just keep walking. Don’t look to the right, to the left, and definitely don’t look behind you. There is so much more in front of you for you to fulfill!
Growth, change, and the walk into freedom are not comfortable. It doesn’t smell good; it doesn’t feel good. It’s the tearing away of the old you. Yes, we relapse. Yes, we encounter doubt. Yes, we even fear the path ahead, which makes the one behind us seem more manageable. Don’t give up. The change you’ve made in the last several days, months, even years is making its mark. Freedom is forming. The old you is shedding away. The broken parts of you are mending. Why stop the process now? Why give in to moments of familiarity? Yes, it’s comfortable, but it’s not profitable for your body, mind, and spirit.
The thing is, you’ve been here before. The halfway mark. The one where you’re beginning to feel fatigued. But don’t you remember your second wind is coming? When it arrives, you’ve got to be facing forward. Face set like flint. Nothing to persuade a slide off course. You’ve been here before, back at the last notch of testing. You survived. You pushed through. Just keep on walking. Freedom tastes sweet in comparison to day-old bread. Why compromise your purpose? Why give in to a moment?
Don’t get complacent in doing well. Each day presents a growth challenge. No matter how small, each movement forward breaks chains off the old. In this place of movement, there is no time for laziness. You have not arrived, but you’re getting there. You’ll know the end mark when you’ve walked into peace. Peace of mind. Alignment in body. Ignited in spirit. When you push yourself forward, you are embracing revelation. Revelation, you deserve more. Revelation, there is purpose in your presence. Revelation that doing is not your purpose. Revelation of being holds concrete truth.
How? How do you know to keep moving? If what is tempting you, what is trying to distract you, trying to stop you, robs you of your peace, steals your joy, it is not meant for you. It is not a part of your journey to freedom. All distractions can place you in a mind of tossing and turning like the waves, causing doubt, comparisons, and opening doors to your old self. Again, set your face like flint and do not look to the right, the left.
Keep walking; freedom is ahead.
Just a nugget of wisdom: “True freedom takes place when a person accepts the truth of where they are and sees clearly the vision of where they are supposed to be. True freedom begins the moment light shines on the darkness of one’s mind. Eventually, this brings about an internal catapulting desire to remove oneself from the wasteland and take that first step toward their purpose.” (J. Goodson, 2012. Insightful Reflections of the Humankind)
We are six months into the year with six left to achieve. You can do this.
Keep walking. Freedom is ahead.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Jennifer Goodson, MA, LMHC, CAGCS is a licensed mental health counselor with an office in Winter Haven, Fla., a Professor of Psychology at Warner University in Lake Wales, Fla., and a transformational speaker. She holds a Master of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Regent University in Virginia Beach, Va. For more information, visit www.pathwaycounselingservice.com.