INSANE? OR DO I
HAVE A CHOICE?
At several conferences I have heard
the quote from Albert Einstein defining insanity. “Insanity is doing the same thing over and
over again and expecting different results.”
I confess that I have been “insane” a lot in my life! Especially when it comes to my health and in
relationships!
Not many of you know that I grew up
in an alcoholic verbally abusive home.
My dad was actually physically abusive to my mom. One of my first memories is watching him beat
her with the butt of a gun. Because of
her mental issues, when they divorced, my custody was awarded to him. I’m the only one out of my sisters that he
actually hit out of anger a few times.
We had every physical need met because he had money but not a lot of our
emotional and spiritual needs met.
I 100% credit my relationship with
Jesus Christ that I began at age 9 for preserving me in the situation and
healing me of past hurt and baggage. At
age 46, I’m still working on it and struggling with it. I could blame my past and my dad for all of
my failures and struggles. I confess
that I lived many years blaming him. But
I’m a grown-up who GETS TO CHOOSE how I think and how I feel and how I act. I don’t have to be “insane”!
I am excited that I GET
TO CHOOSE something different for my life!
That gives me so much hope – personally and physically. I GET TO CHOOSE to eat better
and exercise and feel physically better.
I GET TO CHOOSE to pray and read God’s Word and heal
myself spiritually through these activities.
I GET TO CHOOSE to read and study books on emotional
healing and developing better relationships.
I GET TO CHOOSE to transform my life every day by making
choices that take me down a healthier – body, soul, & spirit – path.
Does that mean I’m perky/happy all
the time? No. Life is stressful. Things happen to me that are beyond my
control. But the “joy of the Lord is my
strength”. He can help me through all
the stressors of life and help me enjoy my journey. He helps me make different choices that are for
life and hope in response to my stressors.
I recently finished reading a book
called The Noticer Returns by Andy Andrews. Here are a few quotes from the book that have
helped me in this area of life:
“If you are doing what everyone else
is doing, you are doing something wrong.
Why? Because most people are not
obtaining results that are considered extraordinary. If your thinking is causing you to do what
everyone else is doing, you are only contributing to the average. Even if you are contributing to the average
at a high level, it is still…average. Do
you want to be average? Do you want an
average life span or an average lifestyle?
Do you want an average marriage?
Do you want to raise average children?
Do you want average financial results?...No! Of course not! If you could wave a magic want over your
life, you’d create results in every part of your life that are wildly beyond
the average…Therefore, in order to produce results that are wildly outside the
average – to produce results that are extraordinary – you cannot afford to
think like average people think. You
cannot act like average people act. You
cannot be what average people are…which is normal.”
“If your situation is the fault of
anything or anyone else there is very little hope and absolutely zero power
over your own life. Responsibility is
about hope and control…Who doesn’t want hope for a greater future that their
choices control? You have been granted
free will…Don’t be like average people.
Most folks look for their car keys with more energy than they search for
the wisdom that can change their lives.
The power wrapped up in the principle of responsibility is unleashed by
correct thinking. Consider this
statement: ‘I have had some crazy and tragic things happen in my life, and I
couldn’t control any of them. But in
response to those crazy and tragic things, I have made choices that have taken
me down a path to a place I do not like.’
If you can understand and believe that, it will be a defining moment in
your journey…If you can understand and believe that you have made choices that
took you to a place you don’t like, doesn’t
it just make logical sense that you can now make choices that will take you to
a place you do like?...So now your game becomes one of seeking wisdom
and harnessing the power of that wisdom in order to make better choices.”
Your health and your life will never
change for the better unless you start making different choices. I urge you to urgently seek out all the help
you need to make different choices in your life that lead to an extraordinary
future full of hope and health.
As always, my staff and I are here
to help you with the health part. We now
have available to you in the office a counselor to help you emotionally and
spiritually and an RN Educator for counseling on stress management and good
nutrition. There are really unlimited
resources available in our world to help us grow and change. Take advantage of them.
Don’t be
“insane”. Make a DIFFERENT choice
today!
I’m so grateful for you all.
Thanks for letting me speak into
your life.
Tabetha, “Insane” at times Nurse
Practitioner
