They got some dogs, restrained them, and, gave them about 64 electric shocks.
The following day, the dogs were placed in a special box with two compartments separated by a short barrier.
The idea was that if the floor of one compartment was electrified, the dog could hop over the barrier and escape into the other side.
However, that wasn’t what happened in Solomon’s experiment.
When the dogs were placed in the special box and the current turned on, they didn’t move an inch.
The dogs were in discomfort, yet, they didn’t do the one thing that could relieve their pain – Jump to the other side!!!
As it turned out, the experience of being restrained and shocked 64 times in one day taught the dogs one thing: No matter what you do, you can’t escape the pain
When going through trying times, humans forget that they are not the only ones who have experienced such circumstances.
No matter how rough the situation it is you’re going through is, there are people who have gone through worse and came through on the other side.
It’s easier to snap out of learned helplessness when you realize that: (a) your situation could have been much worse, and (b) other people in similar or worse circumstances pulled through.
3. There’s always a way of escape
Gavin de Becker once said, “When you worry, ask yourself, what am I choosing not to see right now?”
Learned helplessness is built on a foundation of faulty mental models that are in turn established upon incorrect assumptions of reality.
Once you understand this, you’d realize that you have no problem but a perception problem.
The fact that you’re faced with a situation means you have what it takes to get out of it.
Open your eyes and heart and stay sensitive, you’d realize that the answer is closer than you think.
Assume that you have spent $100 on a ticket for a weekend ski trip to Michigan. Several weeks later you buy a $50 ticket for a weekend ski trip to Wisconsin. You think you will enjoy the Wisconsin ski trip more than the Michigan ski trip. As you are putting your just-purchased Wisconsin ski trip ticket in your wallet, you notice that the Michigan ski trip and the Wisconsin ski trip are for the same weekend! It’s too late to sell either ticket, and you cannot return either one. You must use one ticket and not the other. Which ski trip will you go on?
If you chose Michigan, you are like 54% of the respondents in this study who based their decision on the ticket prices.
This does not make sense, as you obviously derive more satisfaction from Wisconsin than Michigan, despite the higher price!
What just happened is referred to as sunk costs, which Ohio State University professors, Hal Arkes, and Catherine Blumer, describe as the ‘… greater tendency to continue an endeavor once an investment in money, effort, or time has been made. The prior investment, which is motivating the present decision to continue, does so despite the fact that it objectively should not influence the decision…the psychological justification for this maladaptive behavior is predicated on the desire not to appear wasteful.’
Sunk costs are a reason behind many people’s unhappiness in this day and age.
It is the reason why people continue to remain in abusive relationships. They consider the time and efforts they had already invested in the relationship, despite common sense appealing to them to stay alive by opting out.
The effects of sunk costs are not just limited to individuals. You see the same patterns repeating itself in the kinds of decisions made by corporations and governments.
Who can forget how the almighty Concorde passenger jet continued to fly for 27 years, despite the fact that it was not commercially viable to stay in business. Similarly, US citizens will not be in a hurry to neglect the way its government handled, not one, but two needless wars in the shape of the Vietnam and Iraq conflicts.
At this point, the question is pretty straightforward: How can we reduce errors in judgment made as a result of sunk costs?
In the next few paragraphs, I share three simple strategies that will be helpful to you.
Be Introspective to Reduce Sunk Cost Errors
In my post, The Myth of Quitting: When Quitting is a Good Idea, I talk about the Stockdale Paradox, which states that, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.“
Most people allow sunk costs to cloud their judgments because they allow their heads to stay in the sky while seeing the world through rainbow-colored lenses.
If you want to reduce the negative impact of sunk costs in your life, you need to be willing to be introspective and have uncomfortable conversations with yourself.
Don’t be afraid to ask yourself the hard questions about your current course of action. Ask yourself, ‘Is this the best use of my time and resources?’ , ‘Would I be better off without this relationship?’, Should I be looking for alternative uses of my resources?‘
These are questions that have the potential of changing your life. However, you will never be able to answer them if you do not give yourself the time to slow down and be introspective.
Reduce Sunk Costs By Reaching Out for Advice
Many times, the quality of our decisions are a reflection of where we are, and what we know at a given time. In my native Yoruba dialect, there is a powerful proverb which says, ‘Nkan ti agba ri lori ijoko,b’omode ba gun’gi o le ma ri ‘. This roughly translates as ‘What a child needs to climb a ladder to see, an elder sees it effortlessly while seated’
Sometimes, no matter how much you introspect, there’s still no substitute for experience.
JoNell Strough, of West Virginia University, and her colleagues conducted a study to see how people reacted to a failing plan that was halfway complete. They discovered that older people were likelier to cancel the plan, as opposed to younger people who continued to plow through, despite all the signs pointing to failure.
You don’t need to make all the mistakes yourself.
If you want to improve the quality of your decisions and reduce errors due to sunk costs, don’t be afraid to reach out to experienced people who are more knowledgeable than you in a particular area or field.
Detach Your Identity from Your Decisions
If you want to reduce the hold of sunk costs over you, you must not be afraid to separate what you consider as your true abilities, from the results of your decisions.
In studies conducted by Itamar Simonson and Barry M. Staw, from the University of California, they observed that people have a tendency to justify their poor decisions by increasing their commitments to them.
This means one thing: Their identities are formed by their decisions.
Therefore, in order to protect their identities, people have a need to protect and commit to their decisions – even when it does not make sense!
As a result, they continue to plow through the path of sunk costs, despite it not being in their best interests to continue to do so.
When you take the bold step of not seeing your identity in the results of your decisions, your attitude changes.
Instead of seeing decisions as an identity to protect at all costs, you start seeing them as learning opportunities that will help you in the long run.
In Conclusion…
A lot of unnecessary pain, waste and heartache can be avoided if you are able to identify sunk costs.
To do that, you need to be more introspective about the status quo, more open to advise from mentors and experts, and more willing to detach your sense of self from the outcomes of your decisions.
Just ask any toddler to give you the name of an animal and nine times out of ten, the answer would be “Lion”. In the next few paragraphs, we’d be diving into 5 characteristics of lions that can set you up for the fulfillment of your purpose and destiny.
Lions Understand the Power of Association
By nature, lions are social animals. In fact, research has shown that they are one of the most social of all the feline species. This is not a mere coincidence. One way or the other, lions have been able to discern over time that there are benefits to living together in groups. For instance, by virtue of their tendencies to hunt together, lions are able to attack their prey more efficiently. While one lion might be able to defend its territory against invaders, the effect is multiplied when there are numerous lions working together to defend their pride. This reduces the chances of lions being injured from attacks, while also reducing the chances of hunger as the lions share their prey.
How does this relate to you?
In his book, The Rhythm of Life: Living Every Day with Passion and Purpose, Matthew Kelly says, “The people we surround ourselves with either raise or lower our standards. They either help us to become the best version of ourselves or encourage us to become lesser versions of ourselves. We become like our friends. No man becomes great on his own. No woman becomes great on her own. The people around them help to make them great. We all need people in our lives who raise our standards, remind us of our essential purpose, and challenge us to become the best version of ourselves.”
You need to understand that there is power in association. The people you spend the bulk of your time with have a powerful role in determining what you get out of life. This is one reason the rich will keep on getting richer and the poor would keep on getting poorer. Wealth brings more opportunities for creating wealth and lack attracts even more lack. This is the same reason that there are always more opportunities for the purpose-driven ones to manifest the seeds deposited within them. Your association would go a long way in determining your location on the food chain. When all is said and done, the people you continually spend time with are a pointer to the kind of person you are. Little wonder Proverbs 27:17 says, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.” By associating with each other, each friend ends up in a better position than what he would have been in if he were alone.
Lions Understand Their Role in the Grand Scheme of Things
Ecologists and biologists refer to certain kinds of animals as ‘keystone predators’. These are a special group of animals that have a powerful role in bringing about balance into their immediate environment. They do not have to be plenty in number to bring about the desired outcome. Their mere presence is a quality assurance measure in the ecosystem. Lions are able to do this by feeding on a broad range of animals such as giraffes, buffaloes, and deer that would have otherwise depleted the grasslands through overgrazing. Without the presence of lions, in a matter of years, there would be no grasses in the grasslands. This, in turn, would lead to severe disruptions in the balance of such ecosystems. This might sound oxymoronic but the very act of going on the offensive to hunt down prey is a powerful way that lions ensure that there is continuity of life in their environment.
How does this relate to you?
You have a role that God has created for you on this side of eternity. You have a role in the His continuously unfolding story of creation. Unfortunately, a lot of people are walking through life without any passion. They do not understand that they are co-authors with God in this beautiful story called life. As a result, they lead boring, unsatisfactory lives because they are not acting in ways that are congruent with their life purposes. You were placed on earth for a reason. It is your responsibility to find out what that purpose is. And when you find it, you need to go on the offensive to diligently pursue it. Lions do not fold their arms in their dens patiently waiting for the deer and buffaloes to offer themselves for the slaughter. In the same way, you should also be ready to go out of your comfort zone to pursue your purpose and fulfill your role in God’s meta-narrative. You were created for fruitfulness, multiplication, replenishment, subjugation, and dominion (Genesis 1:28). You were created to be a keystone predator in your area of purpose!
Lions Understand the Power of Selection and Decisiveness
Lions have a weakness that they have learned to use to their advantage. In comparison to their sizes, lions have small hearts. This results in lions not having much endurance and stamina, as their blood cannot be pumped towards their lungs to receive oxygen quickly enough. This could be a reason why lions spend up to 20 hours a day in a passive, resting state. By implication, this means that lions need to be very strategic when they hunt. First, they identify the single animal they want to kill. Lions do not wildly chase 5 buffaloes or 10 deer at the same time. That is not a heart-friendly approach for lions. Rather, they pick out the animal that has strayed away from its group. After that, they gradually and stealthily inch closer to the animal, usually under the cover of the tall brown grasses of the Savannah grasslands. Even the attack itself is a short burst of devastating power, usually involving the lion jumping at and choking the unfortunate animal with its powerful jaws. Within moments, all that is left of the prey is blood and bones.
How does this relate to you?
In the journey of life, you would need to realize that you cannot be good at everything. You would have areas of strengths, as well as areas of weaknesses. That is why, just like lions, you need to play more to the areas of your strengths. Lions do this by adapting their hunting style to their stamina levels. You need to do the same with your strengths. You also need to have the subconscious awareness that you do not need to approach every event in your life with the same level of energy. Some activities have to be delegated, while others need to be eliminated or automated. If you insist on doing everything on your own, you would end up burning out very quickly, just as the stupid lion that chases 500 buffaloes at once. In addition, lions have some form of decision-making system that enables them to pinpoint the animal that would soon be dinner. They realize that if they spend to much time dilly-dallying on the best animal they need to kill, they would die of hunger. Once they make a selection, they focus on that animal – and that animal alone – with devastating ruthlessness. Do the same with the opportunities that come around in your life. Be decisive and realize that your indecision is a decision!
Lions Understand the Power of Night Time
As mentioned earlier, because of their hearts, lions do not have the stamina to chase their preys all day long. Therefore, in addition to using stealth, lions are also masters of hunting at night. To be able to achieve this, they need to have powerful eyes that are able to pick out their unsuspecting prey.
How does this relate to you?
William A. Ward famously uttered these golden words: “Study while others are sleeping; work while others are loafing; prepare while others are playing; and dream while others are wishing.” The truth is that the majority of the people in the world are prisoners of mediocre existences. As a result, a little more deliberate effort on your end would put you beyond the despairing claws of mediocrity – unlocking access to mindblowing power-ups for your life and destiny. Naturally, you need to have a burning vision for your desired future. Without this, all you’re doing is crossing the highway with blinders on. Once your vision is in place, you need to learn how to develop mastery over the night or at least wake up before the sun rises. While there are virtues to be found in resting your body and mind with sleep, there is also power in conquering your day before sunrise. The most obvious benefit is that you develop the capacity to increase the length of your days (Proverbs 3:1-2) such that you are able to accomplish more in 24 hours than others are able to attain in a month!
Lions Are Not Afraid to Make Themselves Heard
Lions are well known for their ability and willingness to roar. They roar during the day, and they not ashamed of roaring at night. In fact, lions are more likely to roar at night with their sounds travelling as far 8 kilometers away from their current location.
How does this relate to you?
The only reason lions roar is to announce their presence. The roar of a lion is not a mating call, neither is it a warning or defense mechanism. The roar is a self-promotional strategy. Here’s what T. Harv Eker said in his bestselling book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth: “Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value. Poor people think negatively about selling and promotion.” In the name of false humility, a lot of people shrink away from telling others about their areas of expertise. Not only is this capable of rendering you broke for a long, long time, it also deprives many people the potential solution to their problems. This is not humility, but rather a classic case of selfishness and pride where you allow your low opinion of yourself to deprive others of the answer to their prayers.
On April 24, 1945, US President Harry Truman was informed about the development of a powerful and terrible bomb developed by brilliant physicists at Alamogordo, New Mexico. Later that day, President Truman wrote the following in his diary:
Stimson told me that he wanted me to know about an immense project that was underway–a project looking to the development of a new explosive of almost unbelievable destructive power. That was all he felt free to say at the time, and his statement left me puzzled. It was the first bit of information that had come to me about the atomic bomb, but he gave me no details… The next day Jimmy Byrnes, who until shortly before had been Director of War Mobilization for President Roosevelt, came to see me, and even he told me a few details, though with great solemnity he said that we were perfecting an explosive great enough to destroy the whole world.
By August 6, 1945, a ‘very inefficient’ bomb dropped on Hiroshima instantly killing 70,000-80,000 people. In another three days, a second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. By August 15, the Emperor of Japan – Emperor Hirohito – gave his famous Jewel Voice Broadcast, where he announced the surrender of Japan to the Allies.
While the annals of history report that the atomic bomb forced Japan to surrender, this was not the case. Yes, the atomic bomb was the most powerful bomb seen at the time. However, the real reason why the Japanese forces surrendered was that the Soviets decided to join the war. Originally, the Japanese and Soviets had an agreement of not interfering with the other country’s affairs. This meant that the Japanese forces only had to concentrate their might on containing the US. This also explains why the Japanese leaders did not surrender after Hiroshima’s bombing on August 6.
However, when the news filtered that the Soviets had broken their end of the bargain, the Japanese realized that they were fighting on two fronts – with the US and with the Soviets. The US was separated from Japan by the Pacific Ocean and it would probably take months before the US army could make inroads to overpower Japan. The Soviets, on the other hand, were only days away from overrunning Japanese-controlled territory. It made perfect sense for surrender after learning that the Soviets had joined the war.
To add even another twist to the story, there is evidence that Harry Truman did not have to approve the detonation of the atomic bombs to win the war against Japan. For instance, Adm. William D. Leahy, Truman’s chief of staff in the U.S Strategic Bombing Survey is reported to have said the following:
‘Certainly, prior to 31 December 1945, and in all probability, prior to 1 November 1945, Japan would have surrendered even if atomic bombs had not been dropped.”
Another military official, Brig. Gen. Carter Clarke said, ‘We didn’t need to do it, and we knew we didn’t need to do it, and they knew that we didn’t need to do it, we used them as an experiment for two atomic bombs.’
So, why did President Harry Truman go on to approve dropping the atomic bombs on Japan?
“Mr. President, was you popular when you was a boy?”
“Why, no, I was never popular,” the old man told the crowd of school children in the Truman Library auditorium. “The popular boys were the ones who were good at games and had big, tight fists. I was never like that. Without my glasses I was blind as a bat, and to tell the truth, I was kind of a sissy. If there was any danger of getting into a fight, I always ran. I guess that’s why I’m here today.”
From the little snippet from the biography, it is easy to say that a younger Harry Truman had a problem with his identity and the way he saw himself. A little research deeper, it is not hard to see where the seeds of this identity were sown.
In the same book, Harry Truman’s father was described as a short man who was about 1.62 meters tall. Yet, in spite of his physical limitations in terms of height, Harry Truman’s father never hesitated to handle disagreements with fisticuffs. In fact, there is a story of how the man nearly beat up a large lawyer who had accused him of lying in a courtroom.
In Harry Truman’s eyes, his dad was the definition of a manly man! And life experience upon life experience pointed to one fact: Unless Truman acted like his dad, there was no way he would possess the identity of a manly man.
The identity of the manly man started to fade away when Truman discovered that he had poor eyesight and had to wear glasses as thick as Coke bottles. Two years later, at the age of 10, Truman contracted diphtheria which lingered for months and left parts of his body paralyzed. This continued to eat at Truman’s identity, as well as his ability to meet the standards of manliness set by his father long after he had recovered from his illness.
For the rest of his life, Harry Truman would continue to make decisions that he could use to prove to himself that he was a manly man in his own right. Perhaps, it was this need to meet up with the identity of toughness that made Truman opt for dropping the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki when they provided little to no strategic advantage in a war that was approaching its eventual end.
Identity Precedes Character
Harry Truman made himself believe that a masculine man is the one who is not afraid of selecting the toughest option whenever he is presented with a series of choices. Based on the identity that was on Truman’s mind, he was always going to be motivated to take the action that validated the identity he had on his mind. And this identity was one of a tough masculine man that his father would have been proud of. This same identity condemned approximately 200,000 people to an agonizing and tactically unnecessary death.
“As President of the United States, I had the fateful responsibility of deciding whether or not to use this weapon for the first time. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. But the President cannot duck hard problems—he cannot pass the buck. I made the decision after discussions with the ablest men in our Government, and after long and prayerful consideration. I decided that the bomb should be used in order to end the war quickly and save countless lives—Japanese as well as American.”
People act and make sense of the world based on the identity on their minds. This is why Paul’s advice to the believers at Galatia makes a whole lot of sense.
“This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh”
Note that the scripture did not say, ‘Do not fulfill the lust of the flesh, so that you may be able to walk in the Spirit’. No! Paul said, ‘Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.’
There is a reason why a lot of us are still battling with unhealthy habits. Unlike Harry Truman who found a way to embrace the identity of a tough masculine man, we seem to be totally oblivious of our true identities. And for those of us who are aware, we are usually unwilling to embrace the identity of who we are in the Spirit. We fail to walk in the consciousness of who we are in the Spirit. As a result, we keep on struggling to walk in victory over sin and the unhealthy habits that we battle with daily.
As you may have found out in your life’s experiences, it is impossible to consistently act in a way that is not consistent with the identity you have in your mind at the moment.
You cannot overcome a negative behavior by being consumed with thoughts of how to avoid negative behaviors! As unconventional as it may sound, it is the gospel truth: If you want to consistently walk in the victory over sin and unhealthy habits, do not think about sin! Do not think about unhealthy habits!
Rather, by being identity conscious, you automatically overpower the sin issue. By focusing on possessing a healthy identity, you would find healthy habits being set up in your life accordingly.
How To Change Your Identity And Set Yourself Up For Success
Before you can understand how to change your identity to set yourself up for success, you need to understand 3 foundational basics concerning identity.
First, you have multiple identities. A man can be a father, a son, a husband, an employer, a pastor, a spirit man and many more. The man possesses all these identities at the same time.
Second, your identity is not stable. Even though it appears to be stable, your perception of who you are, changes from time to time, based on the immediate context that you find yourself in. The same man that is an aggressive taskmaster as an employee at work becomes harmless, soft and emotional when playing with his newborn baby at home. It’s all in the context.
Thirdly, while identity is never stable because you have multiple identities at the same time, your desire to use your identity to make meaning of your life is always constant. This is why you would never act in a manner that is not consistent with your identity. If an action does not make sense to the identity that is on your mind at the moment, you would not follow through with it.
With that said, how can you change your identity to set yourself up for victory over sin and destructive habits?
The first step is to develop clarity about the new identity you desire to manifest. For instance, as a believer, my identity is that I am born of the Spirit. As a result, I am a spirit too. What are my characteristics as one born of the Spirit? According to the Bible, it means that I am righteous, holy, and wise. You may decide that you want to be a serial, best-selling author. What are the characteristics of best-selling authors? Well, for one, they make time to write in the mornings and/or evenings every day!
Once you have clarity about the identity you wish you manifest in your life, you need to find a way to make that identity stay stable in your mind. The way this is done is through constant consciousness. And here is the part where a lot of us fall short. You cannot merely wish, woo or command the consciousness of a particular identity to jump on you. The truth is that people are sensitive to what their immediate context imply for their identities. That is why stability in identity only comes from repeatedly experiencing contexts that overall feel the same over time. In the example of Harry Truman, he consistently exposed his identity of trying to be a manly man in different contexts leading up to his time at the US presidency and beyond. As a believer, this is referred to as ‘renewing of your mind’ where you consistently expose your mind to as many different contexts for the new identity you seek to manifest. For instance, being wise in my spiritual identity might mean resisting the devil in one context, while also meaning fleeing fornication in another context. The same thing is applicable in the example of the person who wants to be a best-selling author. By choosing to write every morning, you’re showing that you’re consistent and disciplined, which might also mean that you work out every evening in one context, while also meaning that you would not check your mails until 12 noon.
Finally, you need to have an interpretation and plan for the difficulties that you would inevitably encounter. Learn to reframe difficulties as important milestones you need to pass to reinforce your identity. For instance, as a believer, trials and temptations are bound to arise. However, when I rename these temptations or trials as pathways to growth, I am more likely going to keep my mind on the identity of being born of the spirit. Similarly, for the person that wants to write a best-selling book, a time would come when it would become a bit difficult to stay consistent and disciplined. The individual that interprets these difficulties as a necessary path to greatness would ride over the waves of challenges and would arrive at his expected destination in the long run.
When you operate from an identity paradigm, the difficulties you experience become the path you need to take to arrive at the better you that desire. The truth is that while your identity influences your actions, your actions also have an effect on your identity. When you act in a way that aligns with your desired identity, you reinforce that identity; and when you act in a way that does not align with your identity, you’re dismissing the importance of that identity you desire.
I learned a powerful lesson in consciousness when I went to my favorite supermarket some months ago.
I needed a black dye, but I did not know whether or not it was available in the store because I had never needed it.
So, I asked one of the workers there and sure enough, the guy directed me to the aisle where the dye was.
Equipped with the knowledge, I walked towards an aisle that I had passed nearly a thousand times before and picked up my desired item.
While I now knew where to get a black dye anytime I need it in the future, there are still thousands and thousands of products on other aisles in the supermarket that I was totally oblivious to their existence.
Did my ignorance make them less real?
No. The products were still there, but since I did not have the knowledge and need for these products, I was unable to see or experience them – in spite of the fact that they were located in the same supermarket!
You see, everything you’d ever need to live a successful and fulfilled life has already been created. It already exists. Just like my dye was already on its aisle in my favorite supermarket. However, just like I was unable to access my dye till I got help, a lot of people will never be able to access everything that has been provided for them because they do not have a consciousness of where to get it!
Your consciousness is one of the most potent forces that govern the quality of your experiences on this side of eternity. However, by understanding how to harness the power of your consciousness, you would be able to unleash every single drop of potential that God has wrapped within the fibers of your essence.
Have a Consciousness of The Invisible
This is the deal: People have not yet gotten it into their craniums that there are two aspects to life. These are: The physical realm, which constitutes of all that we can interact with our 5 senses and logically explain. And the spiritual realm, which is the invisible causal realm of completed perfect forms which can only be sensed by our spirits.
You see, every individual is essentially made up of 3 parts: spirit, soul and body. However, ever since the Fall, every child given birth to had a dead spirit that was separated from the Life-Giving Essence of God. So, such a child could only interact with his environment with his five senses (body) and his will, emotions, intellect, and conscience (soul). However, when such a person accepts Christ as his Lord and Savior, the very Life-Giving Essence of God quickens the spirit of such man – making it alive and responsive to God!
Unfortunately, spending years on a worldview which is solely conscious of the physical world can take its toll on your consciousness and the quality of your life. It’s only when you have renewed your mind on the Word of God (Romans 12:2) that such mental shackles are shattered.
For instance, Ephesians 2:6 tells us that as believers in the finished work of Christ, God has “made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Note that the verb in that verse didn’t say ‘we will be made to sit’ or ‘He is making us sit’
Nope. The verse says God ‘has made us sit together in heavenly places.’
That’s past tense. A done deal!
But how can we be seated in ‘heavenly places’ if we are still very much alive in the physical realm?
Well, that’s because we live twice! In the spiritual realm, as well as, in the physical realm.
Yet, so many people don’t have the right consciousness and they live as though all there is to life is in the ‘here’ and ‘now’. A few more believe that their forays into the spiritual realm would only kickoff when they physically die.
Nothing could be further from the truth!
Jesus said, “…he that believeth on me hath everlasting life” (John 3:16, 6:47).
Do you think Jesus was merely referring to life in heaven after one’s death?
No, it includes the perks too. He was referring to the manifestation of the realities of heaven, here on earth. That’s everlasting life!
No sickness, no pain, no lack, no want. That’s everlasting life!
A life of purpose, abundance, fulfillment. That’s also part of the package called everlasting life.
As it is in heaven, that’s how it is on earth!
That’s the kind of life that Jesus Himself lived here on earth and He wants you to lead the same.
Have a Consciousness of The Finished Work
Genesis 1:1 is a verse that everybody should be really familiar with. It says,
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.”
The first time I really meditated on this verse, the verb ‘created’ literally jumped out to me.
Note how the verse did not say,
“In the beginning, God began to create the heaven and the earth.”
Rather, in that verse, we have the past tense form of the verb ‘create’
This implies that in the beginning, God had already completed the creation of everything that needed to be created in heaven and on earth. He had already met every need that would ever be needed on the earth. God had already provided answers for every question that would ever be asked on earth. God had already dished out more than enough wealth and provision for everybody in each generation that would ever tread upon the face of the earth.
In the beginning, it was already finished.
In the beginning, the deal was already completed.
Right there, in the beginning, all prayers had been answered and all needs met.
In that very first verse, everything that would be necessary for a successful life had been created for every single individual that would be born.
Yes, in the beginning, everything was already completed in the spiritual realm of abundant perfect forms!
That’s why God did not bother creating anything on the physical earth for the remainder of the creation story.
All He did was to speak into physical manifestation everything that He knew was already present in the spiritual realm.
‘According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue’
Note how the verb is in the past participle form. God created you for glory and virtue and that is why in His Divine Power, He has given us every single thing that we would need to enjoy a full and godly life.
There’s more than enough for everybody.
There is more than enough resources.
There’s more than enough power.
There is more than enough for every single individual that has tread, that is treading, and that will ever tread the surface of this earth.
You were not created to manage through life. No! You were created to enjoy abundance here on earth. But you’d never walk in this abundance if you do not have the consciousness of this abundance. You would never access this wealth available to you if you do not have the consciousness of the fact that there is more than enough to go around.
However, this wealth is a spiritual reality and if you lack the consciousness of the fact that everything is created twice, you would be cheating yourself out of the abundance that God has made available for you.
My Consciousness Story
I remember a time when I was in a desperate need for a job. I was reaching my breaking point because I was starting to get really overwhelmed by my current situation. You know, it’s funny how all the Bible knowledge you’ve accumulated over time seems to desert you in the time of your need.
Anyways, God being faithful started reminding me of this very fact that I am sharing with you – you need to be conscious that there is a spiritual realm, as well as the physical realm. I started gaining my consciousness of the fact that I had everlasting life within me.
This was when it occurred to me that I would be doing myself a great disservice if I lived without a consciousness of the invisible abundance available to me at any given time.
It was like someone switched on my brain! My worries dissolved like a pillar of salt in water.
Since I made that shift in consciousness, I started becoming very thankful for getting a job. If you had seen me during that period, you would have thought that I won the lottery. Such was my happiness and excitement because of my consciousness of the abundance present in the spiritual realm of perfect forms.
Within two months, I got a job.
As I mentioned earlier, your consciousness is one of the most potent forces that govern the quality of your experiences on this side of eternity. The moment you start becoming conscious of the fact that there is a spiritual realm of perfect forms, it’s only a matter of you walking up to the aisle you want and picking up the items you need – be it peace, health or wealth.
If you want to learn more about consciousness, here are some other posts that I have written on the topic