The first step to a new YOU!

The first step to a new you is to make your choice. It’s that easy! Choose to change. Adopt an attitude of success. Have faith. The only one that can take this first step is you.

 Taking the first step is usually the most difficult step. Making your choice to change your life from the comfort-zone of the known to the adventure of the unknown is daunting for most of us. But one thing is for certain: unless we choose our future, our future will choose us!

 Over the years I have been using a simple symbol as a blueprint for planning: the mandala. As you may know, a ‘mandala’ is a symbol used in many cultures: a circle divided by an equal-sided cross. I’ve always loved the interpretation of this symbol as being a symbol of eternal perfection – the ultimate goal. The circle with no end and no beginning symbolizes eternity. The equal-sided cross inside is synonymous with perfection.

 When I teach the unemployed youth I work with I use the body as a way to remember the significance of the mandala. I stand up, legs together and arms outstretched to either side to form a cross. I ask them to imagine a circle around my body. Then I point out the meaning of the mandala:

• The feet – that is the bottom of the cross – represent our body. This includes our health, our roots, our culture and our family.
• The left hand, closest to the heart, represents our emotions. This further involves our relationships to others, our attitude, as well as our contribution to society and our own community.
• The right hand, which most people use as their ‘main hand’ symbolizes our mind: our creative ability, our means to earn a living, everything that has to do with making money and finance.
• The head refers to our spirit – it is our connection to God, to whom we can communicate in prayer and rely on in faith. Spirit is also about leadership, vision, inspiration and motivation. I always point out ti these young people, that the fact that the neck is so short relative to our arms and legs should serve as a constant reminder that we cannot truly be successful and content as human beings if we are not connected to God. It is through this connection that we are able to fulfil our true purpose in life.

 The message of the mandala is that, if we want to live truly happy and successful lifes, we need to ensure that all four areas – body, emotions, mind and spirit – are in balance. This is what we constantly need to strive for. While it seldomly happens that all four are in harmony, if we want a balanced life, we need to work towards that perfection.

 In making your choices about the life you want, use the mandala as a guiding pattern. Take a piece of paper and divide it with a horizontal and vertical line into four equal sections. Now place the headings ‘Spirit’, ‘Mind’, ‘Emotion’  and ‘Body’ from left to right at the top of each section.

 The next step in your personal planning process is to brainstorm the things you want to achieve or change or simply want to continue growing under each of the four sections. For instance, under ‘Spirit’ you might write ‘Make time every day for prayer’, and so on.

 If you want to, you can also start this exercise by listing all the things, habits or people that are already important to you under each heading and taking a moment to consider this in a spirit of thanksgiving!

 Similarly, if you don’t know what you should choose, it may be helpful to take another piece of paper and write down the things, circumstances, habits or people that you believe are having a negative impact on your life and then, on a new sheet, translating each of those into a positive course of action. For instance, if under ‘Body’ you have noted a tense relationship with your mother, on the new sheet you could list one thing you could do to improve that relationship or deal with the situation better.

 This simple technique of writing down your choices can really help prepare you towards creating the life you want and fulfilling the dreams you have.

Of course, as a person with faith in Christ, you will want to place your dreams under His will. In order to be reminded of this continually, I generally draw a cross in the middle of the two lines crossing at the centre of the mandala. This serves as a reminder that, by placing Christ at the centre of our lives, we 'straighten out' any imbalance and are so much stronger.

Interestingly enough, the symbol that Martin Luther designed to summarize his' life's philosophy is known as the "Luther Rose' and is  in the form of a mandala.

Click here to read his interpretation of the 'Luther Rose' in Luther's personal words.