Accessing Christ's Power, How To Love People, Competing With Yourself
Newsletter #11 on April 8, 2023.
Discipleship // Leadership // Mental Performance. The best from this week.
DISCIPLESHIP
“In pondering the fearlessness of the Master during His mortal ministry, it is altogether too easy to ascribe His courage to the fact that He would have been protected from any physical harm by angelic protectors if necessary. Jesus' fearlessness rested upon His righteousness; therein lay His sole security. The powers of heaven were His only insofar as He remained as He did––righteous. It is the same with us."
Neal A. Maxwell
The powers of heaven manifest themselves in an abundance of ways. Power over fear, power over sadness, power over discouragement, power over sin and weakness. Power to love better. Power to see clearer.
While I can't list all the ways the powers of heaven can manifest themselves, there is only one way to access them: personal righteousness.
Jesus Christ is the source of power. We access His power to the degree we honor Him and His teachings. Rest assured, nobody is more eager and able to help you than Jesus Christ. He said, "Will ye not now return unto me, and repent of your sins, and be converted, that I may heal you? … Behold, mine arm of mercy is extended towards you, and whosoever will come, him will I receive.”
Just this week, Russell M. Nelson commented on this saying of Jesus by adding this: "Dear brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ extends that same invitation to you today. I plead with you to come unto Him so that He can heal you! He will heal you from sin as you repent. He will heal you from sadness and fear. He will heal you from the wounds of this world. Whatever questions or problems you have, the answer is always found in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Learn more about His Atonement, His love, His mercy, His doctrine, and His restored gospel of healing and progression. Turn to Him! Follow Him!"
LEADERSHIP
"How people treat other people is a direct reflection of how they feel about themselves."
Paulo Coelho
Pay attention to how people treat you. It provides a clear window into how they see themselves. Pay attention to how you treat others. You'll learn a lot about yourself.
If you find yourself treating others with jealousy, disrespect, ambivalence, lukewarmness, or contempt ... it shows you how you feel about yourself. And if someone is treating you in this way, it's not a reflection of you, but of them.
Even slight behaviors of holding back reveal a great deal about ourselves. Not being fully supportive of someone else's success, holding back a compliment because you think their achievement takes something away from you, or a myriad of other ways we hold back.
There's a consistent theme with great leaders. Those who treat others with kindness are kind to themselves. Those who treat others with love have love for themselves. Those who treat others with respect have respect for themselves.
Jesus didn't command us to love others more than ourselves. He said, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Perhaps He was teaching a truth about human nature here. Perhaps He doesn't ask us to love others more than ourselves ... because we can't. The love we give is a reflection of the love we have for ourselves. The more we love ourselves and love God, the more we can love others.
There's a popular saying, "You can't pour from an empty cup." Similarly, you can't give Christlike love to others from a soul bereft of Christlike self-love. Here's a simple way to think about it:
The more we love God, the more we will love ourselves (because the more we love Him, the more we will love what He loves -- us!)
The more we love God and ourselves, the more we will love others.
It's simple and true. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
MENTAL PERFORMANCE
“You can’t just come in here and shoot. You can’t just come in here and do it. You have to compete. You have to push yourself. And you have to do it every day.”
Erik Spoelstra (Head Coach, Miami Heat)
There is a difference between merely doing something and competing. Merely doing something has a very function-without-feeling vibe to it. You go through the motions. You do something but don't really care about it.
To compete, on the other hand, is a very purposeful act. You can't compete without caring.
If I'm just playing basketball, my mind can be in a million different places. And the result of my performance will be as scattered and random as my thoughts. In contrast, if I'm competing––really competing, I'm locked in. I'm fully engaged. I'm present.
Bruce Lee gives a great visual about what it looks like to go through the motions vs. what it looks like to compete. He said: "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times."
There's an intention, a deliberateness, a purposefulness in practicing one kick 10,000 times that nothing else can replicate. This is what it looks like to become great at something. This is what it looks like to compete.
By the way, competing with others is overrated. The more you compete with others, the more you're actually just hindering your own improvement. You'll never reach your highest potential if you're focused on competing with someone else.
John Wooden said, "Compete only against yourself."
He also said, "Time spent comparing myself to others ... (is) time wasted."
What is it you are aiming to improve in? Maybe it's a skill, maybe it's a character trait. Whatever it is, compete with yourself every day and only compare yourself today to who you were yesterday.
Don't just write. Compete.
Don't just shoot hoops. Compete.
Don't just practice piano. Compete.
Don't just turn in an assignment. Compete.
Don't just code. Compete.
When turned into a competition, growth becomes a game. It becomes fun.
3 Questions
1) Where do you most need Godly power in your life? In what ways can you fine-tune your righteousness?
2) What is your treatment of others revealing about yourself?
3) Where in your personal development could you most benefit from competing with yourself?
Disciple-Leadership: Jesus-led. Lead like Jesus.