The real battlefield.

For those of us in entrepreneurship, you get it. It equals personal growth.

I cannot tell you just how much I’ve grown as a human by being in business now for over two (!!) years. I’ve created and nurtured a relationship with money. I’ve nurtured my relationship with myself, with others, with God, and with my body. I’ve learned this from the best business coaches - nurturing four things every day: my bank account, my body, my relationships, and my spirit.

I’ve learned that money doesn’t grow on trees. Though I’m a high risk high reward person, I’m learning that I have to fight for what you want in life. What you affirm (or don’t affirm) over yourself is powerful, too. Our words hold the power of life and death, and I want to be speaking out loud what I believe to be true about myself and my circumstances. My daily affirmations are hugely important to me.

I’m also pinching myself because I can say that I’m a boss, I’m calling the shots for my life, and I now have six women who enjoy working with me on this journey.

I haven’t reflected on this in a really long while, but I’d like to do a deep dive into the real battlefield of life - the mind - because that’s where I find so many of my present day challenges residing.

I wrote a blog post a while back about a coach at Orangetheory I used to love and loved his workouts. He would constantly connect with us about the mindset of how we approached our workouts. When the negative thoughts would come to attack, we’d have to fight back. If we didn’t, then we wouldn’t grow. I loved that.

As I’m writing this blog post, I’m acknowledging that I haven’t been doing my daily affirmations consistently in a very long while. Because of that, I can tell that my mindset is struggling. And the battlefield is oftentimes in the mind. What we choose to think influences what we believe. And what we believe influences how we act and interact with others. I want to win in my mind, and so, I must affirm what I want and what I know is true of myself and my life.

One of my affirmations is that “I am a successful, financially savvy business woman.” Do I consistently believe this to be true? No. Do I want this to be consistently true of me? Absolutely. And so, I affirm this in myself until it comes to fruition.

Let me be clear: I’m not a proponent entirely of “manifestation” or any new agey kind of concepts around this. I do love to call to mind what I want to happen in my life, and understand that - as Craig Groeschel says - your life moves in the direction of your most powerful thoughts.

When I also acknowledge that the battlefield is oftentimes in the mind, then I acknowledge that it’s a battle sometimes, and that I need to fight in order to win. I need to put on “the helmet of salvation.” I need to recall God’s saving grace. I need to be protected by the knowledge of salvation. I need to let God renew my mind as it says in Romans 12. When my mind is renewed, I am transformed.

In all of this today, let me encourage you that though the battle is real and the mind can play tricks on us, calling to mind and speaking out loud what I affirm to be true about me holds deep weight and great power. The power of life and death is held in the tongue as Scripture says, and so what I choose to speak out is powerful. The battlefield is in the mind, and I fight the attacks off with my voice, my beliefs, and my affirmations. Our voices exist, they matter, and they are so worthy of being heard. Yes, by others, but most definitely by ourselves too. Eyes up, everyone!