How does life get better?

Does life get better by providence, good luck, favor, or making changes? Yes. A great life includes all these.

The best life is the one you design.

Yogi Berra said: “If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.”

We design our life by discovering our dreams and pursuing our passions. Discovering our passion is the greatest discovery of life. We can go through life, or life can go through us.

I want to share three tips that work in any season and without fail.

1. Take great risks

A great opportunity will require risk. For instance, most people sacrifice a full-time salary and benefits to go freelance or chase an entrepreneurial dream.

Geena Davis said, “If you risk nothing, then you risk everything.”

This means we sacrifice the comfort of security and embrace the unknown.

Playing is safe is never safe.  Staying safe on the shore will never allow us to experience the open sea.

Abraham took a risk

One man that risks everything was Abraham. Abraham stepped out in faith to go where God sent him.

By faith, Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8, NKJV)

Abraham believed in God and His promise. Abraham took the risk and received the reward. The reward is on the other side of the risk you take.

The biggest risk is to risk nothing.

2. Stay focused on the future

This is challenging.

We all keep past versions of ourselves in a closet somewhere, and every time we open it, we feel pain and suffering. We can’t change the people we once were, but we can make peace with them. Otherwise, our past will forever haunt us.

Have you ever met a person who is a victim of their past? The former hurts are real, but to remain in disappointments of the past cripples our progress.

The devil tries to convince us of missed opportunities. Past failures keep us looking over our shoulders. We get stuck in the old ways and the familiar surroundings. We become a hostage to our past.

Do not allow the “if only’s” to rule your life.

• If only I hadn’t taken that job.
• If only I hadn’t married that deadbeat.
• If only I hadn’t lost that job.
• If only I would have graduated from college.

We must never allow our past experiences to be the mold that forms our future. We can change the mold by looking to the future.

Our best life is always in front of us.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13–14, NKJV)

So, forget what is behind you and look forward to what is ahead.

3. Resist negative thoughts

Dr. Caroline Leaf said, “When we speak words of faith oxytocin, dopamine, and serotonin flow through your body and brain and you weaken traumatic thoughts.  Wow! Do you see that words of faith rewire the brain and release endorphins that bring healing and wholeness?

Scientists say, meditating on positive thoughts improves and repairs the DNA structure of our cells.

Over 75% of all mental, physical, and biological illness evolves from bad thoughts. Did you know that the human mind processes between 50,000 and 70,000 thoughts a day? Meditating on negative thoughts will never produce positive results. Scientists tell us that meditating on negative thoughts shift the DNA cellular structure in our bodies.

Can we say this resembles spiritual brain surgery? Well not quite, but it’s still a remarkable truth.

Remember, God does not control your thoughts, you do.

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This article first appeared here.