Making Success a Pattern, not a Moment: 8 Qualities to Cultivate
You’ve probably had those moments when you breath a sigh of both relief and satisfaction. It’s come off. Something you wanted has worked out, and you are really pleased. Perhaps your response is, “Well, that was lucky. Hope it happens again.” Now once in a while success is like winning the lottery, and things come through against all the odds, but it’s dangerous to build our lives on that model. For the majority of successful people, achievement is a pattern, not a moment. What do I mean by that? Simply that there are reliable predictors of long term success,...
Read MoreLimiting Beliefs: Things that hold us back
I was recently talking to someone who felt God had let them down badly. The marriage hadn’t gone well even though they felt they had done everything right. Of course they had indulged in a few little squabbles and minor bouts of selfishness, but nothing that seemed to justify the marriage ending in such a gut wrenching way – for it was a very messy and painful end. “So how am I ever going to trust God again?” was the plaintive question at the end. Disappointment with God – feeling let down and that God hasn’t kept the agreed contract (I follow the...
Read MoreDeeper-Wider: To be and to do…
You might know that I am very involved with the Carey Group and wearing my AVENIR hat, helped devise their vision document Carey 2026. It’s framed around the theme “Deeper Foundations – Widening Reach” or more simply, “Deeper-Wider” – a wonderful refrain for a missional movement like Carey. In an age when many are content with shallow slogans and triumphalist grandstanding, Carey has committed itself to becoming a reflective movement, unafraid to dig ever deeper into the Christian faith on which it is founded. At the same time it has signed up to...
Read MoreThinking about Fixed and Growth Mindsets
While Carol Dweck’s 2007 book Mindset is no longer new, it continues to spark rich conversations about the difference between fixed and growth mindsets. The basic thesis is simple: Some people approach life with a fixed mindset, assuming that they are born with certain talents and abilities and that relatively little can be done to alter what they started with. They will repeatedly do what they know they can do well – as this is safe and reassuring and gives them a chance to show what they are good at. If they fail, it is because they are no good at what they attempted, not...
Read MoreBecoming whole and holy…
I am currently enjoying reading a book on spiritual formation published under the title Becoming Whole and Holy: An Integrative Conversation about Christian Formation. It is essentially a gentle conversation between the three authors (Jeannine K. Brown, Carla M.Dahl and Wendy Corbin Reuschling) on questions of human being and becoming (or formation). They each bring a different field of specialization to the discussion (biblical hermeneutics, the social sciences and ethics) – which leads to a refreshingly broad and integrative exploration of spiritual formation. Here are some insights...
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