Belief: A Dimension of Mentergy

“Belief is the motivating force that enables you to achieve your goal” – Claude M. Bristol in “The Magic of Believing”, circa 1948

One of my favorite Scriptures is: “If you can believe, all things will be made possible to you.” An old Latin proverb says: “Believe that you have it, and you have it.” It’s amazing how what we use our mental capacities for determines what we have, both in the physical and metaphysical world. While some of my readers may equate this thought process of belief to pretty much an attitude, it is not. Attitude and Belief are related (as we will see next week), but they each produce different crops, if you will…

Suffice it so say, for now, that our mentergy is wasted when we either have “no” beliefs or negative beliefs. Successful people, regardless of their field of endeavor, are amazing believers! They see and believe in the buildings they erect, they believe in and see the efficient workforce they employ, and certainly believe in and see the fulfilled lives they hope to live. This belief in themselves can be an invigorating and motivating tool to spurn people into action.

I find that it is only when I have lost my belief – at the core, lost my faith – that I hit the hardest stretches in my journey. When I have lost faith in myself, have no belief in myself or the work I do, I tend to become a drag to be around (and, yes, even KOZHI hates to be around me!). This lack of belief gets me into trouble because I begin taking steps backward and shying away from the God-given mission for my life. Sadly, this is the point when I have lost so much…

What are you losing, my friend? Have you no belief? In yourself? In humanity? In hope? Will you now do something about it? Or will you exercise your right, yet again, to not believe in yourself and the greatness lying dormant within you? Or will you, with a victorious shout, step out of your comfort and fire up your latent energy?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

“Winning Victory”

Victory comes, at times, just when one no longer expects it
- Martin Buber (1878-1965)

I first came across Buber’s work while in college; specifically in my Philosophy of Religion course with Ms. Pak. A brilliant thinker, Buber, in this case, shows us just the kind of attitude it takes to win.

No matter the field of endeavor, it is often those who stick it out the longest that earn the prize. I must be clear here and note that I do not advocate futile efforts and attempts; some pursuits are lost even with “sticking it out.” What I am pushing for, instead, is an attitude of sustained energy – pushing all the way through, even when the end is uncertain.

World Series Champions and NBA Champions are not made by one game; they are forged in the depths of a grueling series. For some, it’s that fourth game that changes things…others, such as the NBA, the seventh and final one. No matter what point brings such turnaround and victory, it is never an isolated event; it takes time and systematic effort to get there.

 

As we traverse this challenging time in our economy, it is vital for us to learn how to manage our energies; after all, this is just part of the series. If we give up now, all is lost. Or, better said by the Apostle Paul: “Let us not be weary in well-doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.”

The key, my friend, is not to faint; not to give in, not to give up…to give it our all and our very best – to the end…

Have you given up?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Mentergy

“Such a powerful ability, the imagination!

But without wisdom, imagination is a cruel taskmaster”

- William P. Young in “The Shack”

Growing up, I was always dreaming and scheming. I envisioned where my life was going and I imagined what my success was going to be. Thank the Lord, my vision and imagination were taken to heights that I did not even think possible! My move from my parents’ farm in Lusaka West to the Great State of Texas? Never thought that my imagination would take me this far. I truly could go on and on about how the “future” turned out to be greater than I thought it would be as I imagined back then…

 

The interesting thing about imagination, however, is that it can become like a child running with a pair of scissors – potentially fatal. Our mental energy – something I call “mentergy” – is an amazing tool that must be harnessed and used with wisdom. Use it wisely, and the world will bow at your feet; misuse or abuse it, and you’ll be bound and in the stocks forever. The things that we set our imagination to truly determine the quality and quantity of life. Mel Gibson’s William Wallace said, “Every man dies…but not every man really lives.” Living in a choice! And our imagination has a great role to play in whether we really live; as free and able men, women, and children

When we set our mentergy on negative things – fear, anger, sadness, confusion, doubt, etc – we are not only wasting a precious commodity, we are becoming that which we are pouring our energy into. It is then that our imagination becomes a cruel and unforgiving taskmaster. And, sadly, it is then that we become poor stewards of the amazing gift of imagination the Almighty has bestowed upon each of us. No other creature on earth has been given this great ability to imagine. Let us, therefore, cherish it…

What are you doing with your gift?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Energy – The Real Currency Of Life

My least favorite course in high school was Physics. Mr. Jacob, from India, was a good man with a very distinctive accent. Yet, because this course was required, I sat through many classes learning about Newton’s Laws and other components of the course. As I think about the direction that this post (and others over the next few weeks) will take, I am drawn to…”energy”. According to my physics class, energy is the capacity to do work.

If that is truly the case, it is safe to say that energy is the currency we use to “pay” for life. As I have mentioned before, “time” isn’t what we must manage from day to day; it is energy. How we manage our energy (replenish it, use it, and conserve it) determines how successful and whole our days are. If we expend all our energy at “work”, we come home with nothing left to give to our children and our spouses, for instance. Likewise, if we expend all our energy on our personal lives, our professional lives suffer from neglect.

If we are to make the most and the best out of life, we need to be careful where we expend, for instance, our mental energy. Worrying is simply meditating on the negative. If we use the energy we expend on worrying to think of positively creative ways to handle life and its challenges, we will find ourselves happier and more focused. Use it on fear or worry, and we will find ourselves miserable and drained….

So, where have you been expending your energy lately?

 

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.

Only if it Matters...

"We survive on too little sleep, wolf down fast foods on the run, fuel up with coffee and cool down with alcohol and sleeping pills. Faced with relentless demands at work, we become short-tempered and easily distracted. We return home from long days at work feeling exhausted and often experience our families not as a source of joy and renewal, but as one more demand in an already overburdened life"
- Loehr & Schwartz in 'The Power of Full Engagement'

I recently spent almost three and a half weeks on bed rest; being extremely active, this was akin to a life sentence - in solitary. While I did not spend this time alone, I certainly struggled with the loss of mobility...
I became intimately acquainted with the color of the room in which I spent most of my days, and now know where the flaws in paint and drywall are. I also developed an acute awareness of the things that mean the most in my life. Before this season in my life, I was the epitome of zeal, zest and life - always filled with kinetic energy from my constant movement (literally and figuratively). I found, in my moments when the drugs weren't hazing my mind, that I had everything that I needed in life...that I had more than I had hoped for or others had thought I'd attain.
You see, until life becomes obnoxious and imposes her will on us, we can go through life as though everything and everyone else did not matter save for us and our vision, plan, and hopes. The obnoxious imposition may come in varying ways and to varying degrees, but the result is the same: we find that we're not in control as much we think.
Loehr & Schwartz could not have said it better: we're on our way to doom if we keep up the pace with which we're living life. I know...I know. Bills need to be paid, children need to be fed and clothed, and having a roof over our heads cannot be underrated; yet, in our pursuit of these things, we may be hurting those whom we claim to be breaking our backs for - including ourselves.
As economists claim that the recession is "bottoming out" (what does that really mean to you and I, right?), many of us have been forced to take a long and sober look at the practice of our lives. We have been forced to strip all aspirations away, all masks have been removed, and now we are naked and bare - our true and real selves revealed. Forced to contend with the darkness of our hearts, we have come to reduce our lives to the simple things...
...the smiles, laughs and hugs from my soon-to-be 13 year old goddaughter...Sunday dinner with friends - fully equipped with a game of dominos in tow...being able to return home each day after pouring myself to others having not be hurt or killed on the road...the list could go on. Bottom line: our family (those with whom we share biological DNA and those with whom we share social or spiritual DNA) is all that matters. When the economy tanks, they are there; when the walls seem like they are caving in, they are there; when we doubt our abilities and competencies, they are there.

I wonder: have you appreciated these people lately?

(c) 2009, Dr. Kozhi Sidney Makai. No part of this blog post may be reproduced or stored in a retrieval system without the written consent of the copyright holder.