How you choose to view and respond to obstacles and opportunities is entirely your decision. 

You can choose optimism and approach life from a place of thanksgiving, gratitude, creativity, and resourcefulness, or you can look at the same circumstances through a lens of doubt or anxiety and approach life from a place of skepticism, fear, frustration, and despair.

The choice is yours.

What you think (process, ponder, meditate on) you give power to manifest. 

“For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he …” (Proverbs 23:7a).

What you speak (confess, declare, decree) you create.

“Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee …” (Job 22:28a)

What you see (dream of, have vision for) you become.

“Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry” (Habakkuk 2:2-3)

Our ideas—what we think and see—become our words. Words shape worlds.

“And God said, ‘Let there be …’” (Genesis 1:3)

In this way, our thoughts precede our words, our words become our actions, and our actions become our reality. 

You have far more influence over your circumstances than you might imagine. If you wake up each morning and begin the day thinking, “Wow, I’m so tired. How will I make it through this day?” Chances are when someone greets you and says, “How are you?” you will answer, “I’m tired.”

Speaking out about how tired you are will only reinforce your fatigue. Your brain may even respond by making you yawn or stretch, and the person you spoke to may come into agreement with you, “Now that you mention it, yeah, you really do look pretty tired.”

You’ll act tired all day. You’ll nurture your tiredness. And the more tired you agree with yourself that you are, the more tired you will actually become.

The opposite holds true as well. If you reverse your thoughts and say, “I am better rested than I feel. Thank you, God, for this beautiful day!” You will likely begin to act in a way that is more energetic and gets the blood pumping. It will impact whether you grab boiled eggs or a donut and caffeine. It may influence the music you put on, and when you are greeted with, “How are you?” you are more likely to respond, “Great! How are you?”

The energy of positive exchange will literally begin to reverse your physical reality. And this is just one example. Exercise dominion over your mind, guard your heart, and you will see things begin to shift for you. 

You get to participate in creating your world. What world will you create?