I am my own worst enemy!  I can defeat myself faster than a speeding bullet.  I can tear myself down quicker than a wrecking ball.  I can condemn myself better than anyone.  Yes, I am my own worst enemy.

But I can also be my greatest ally.  It is all in the way that I think.

Years ago, I went through a discipleship session called Christ Life.  It is now The Ultimate Journey.  Through that intensive course, I learned that my brain will only believe what I tell it.  I know that sounds strange so let me explain.

If 50 people told me I was smart, handsome and a great friend I may or may not believe them.  The deciding factor is if I see myself that way.  If my wife tells me I am handsome but I see myself as ugly, who do you think I am going to believe?  I will always believe myself  . . . and you will too.

Hence, your brain only believes what you tell it.  Unfortunately, most of us walk around believing lies about ourselves.  When you believe a lie, you empower that lie.  You give it room to grow.

As I reflected on the last couple years of my life I realized that I was simply drifting through life.  I wasn’t living the life I wanted to live mainly because of the way I was thinking about things.  I have been allowing the circumstances of my past, and the hurt caused me by others, to determine how I was living.

I was empowering lies about myself that were limiting my quality of life.  I have certainly been living lower that God intended for me to live.  Jesus said that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly.  I have been living below, in what I would call, the spiritual poverty line.

And it has all been because of my limiting beliefs, or what I have been telling myself.

I decided that 2016 was going to be different.  I decided that 2016 has to be different.  However, New Years Day is not a magical day.  Just because you buy a new calendar and proclaim it’s a new year doesn’t mean that changes will come.

2016 will be not different than 2015 unless I make it different. I know that there will be traumas, tragedies, hurt, hard times and temptations that will come my way.  But, it’s my beliefs and thoughts that will either sink me or allow me to soar.  I decided I want to stop drifting and start designing my life my life again.

To do that, I had to start facing the limiting beliefs.  I had to ask myself what was really holding me back.  It all boiled down to the way I was looking at things, my circumstances and where I am at in life.  It came down to what I was believing.

What I believe will either hold me back or cause me to soar.  You see, for every limiting belief I have there is a liberating truth.  Jesus said that He is the truth and His teaching is the truth.  He said that you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.  I believe that Jesus has something to say about every one of my limiting beliefs.

What He has to say is the truth . . . and I want to live in truth.

So I am dealing with my limiting beliefs this year. That’s not to say that they are magically gone.  They are not.  I have to reprogram my thinking.  The Bible calls this renewing the mind.  I have my limiting beliefs wrote out along with my set of liberating truths.

I have been my own worst enemy but that is about to change.  2016 shall see me as my best ally!

What about you?  Are you allowing certain beliefs to hold you back?