Eye On The Prize

               If someone asked  if you had a solid confidence in yourself...................how would you answer ? Yes or no only . I , myself , have to say no. If you asked me if I have a solid confidence in my job , I would answer with a resounding YES ! Ask about my personal side of life and the answer is a resounding NO !
               Confidence is something that I desperately lack outside of work . Oh , I cover it up pretty well usually by laughing at myself . Everyone says what a great sense of humor I have but only if they knew the truth ! I crack jokes to mask my low self-esteem . This is something I want to correct . This is my latest project .
                 God never ceases to amaze me ! How He knows my heart ! I have a wicker basket in my living room  filled with paperbacks , pamphlets and articles that I have gotten from others as gifts fpr inspirational reading . I randomly pick one to read . Guess what I grabbed ? Confidence building material ! Chance ? I don't think so . He knows that this is something I especially needed this week .
               In this booklet , they speak of ways to steer negative thinking  out of your mind because what goes in is what usually comes out . If you only think negative , derogatory things ....only negative , derogatory things will emerge . This is definitely my major problem . My son , Joey , is always telling me to stop saying this or that . He can't stand it when I put myself down . But we know why I do it . Better I do it myself before someone else beats me to it !
              Here are some simple rules to follow to avoid low  self-esteem .
1. conviction
                     remember God's promise that He will never leave you alone or forget you .
2. possibility
                      be a possibility thinker
3. faith
           plant in your mind pictures of accomplishments , achievement and personal fulfillment
4. strength
                find a positive verse from the Bible and keep repeating itr over and over again especially when you're feeling low
5. harmony
                  apply creative thinking to unpleasant or defeating circumstances
6. humility
                 stop blaming others
            I am guilty of all these steps and am trying to change all that . Easier said then done but......I've tried them out this week and it does seem to work .Whenever I have doubts , especially negative ones , I've tried these steps and it seemed to work . Now, if only I could manage to do this without any problems but automatically.......need to keep my eye on the prize .