By Pamella Lopes Barbosa Pinheiro
“And they told him, and said, We went to the land to which you sent us; and truly mana milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
But the people who dwell in this land are mighty, and the cities fortified and very large; and there too we saw the children of Anahim.
(..)
And Caleb silenced the people before Moses, and said, Surely we shall go up and possess it in inheritance; because we will surely prevail against it.
But the men who went up with him said, We cannot rise against that people, for they are stronger than we are.”
Numbers 13:27-31
In Numbers 13 and 14 we see about the history of the people of Israel who were delivered from the slavery of Egypt and were close to entering the Promised Land. Only before that, Moses sent 12 spies to see what the earth was like. When the 12 returned, only two returned with faith, courage, and hope, including showing the fruits of the earth. Most preferred to feel powerless by the difficulties seen there, without focusing on the fruits.
Given this brief exhibition, we would like to highlight some points about how to be optimistic when going through situations that seem bad.
1- Not always most are right and should be their influence.
We often find ourselves faced with facts, new challenges and stop to hear what everyone says about it and get lost in what we want.
It is very common to have our moments of uncertainty and fears and to ask for advice from many people. But the big problem is that it gets a lot easier for you to get lost when you don’t have a focus and ask for advice for those who have a different view of yours.
That’s why we say it’s more efficient to have few people who can help you with advice and motivation. Know how to choose your mentors and advisors. People with more experience in the area you are being targeted and with the same principles and values as you will help you.
2- The order we see the challenges matters.
In the case of the biblical text we exposed above, the spies first spoke that the earth was good and was mana milk and honey, and soon after spoke of all the difficulties and obstacles that paralyzed them. They forgot all the miracles they had already received and were even reported in the Bible.
When we stop before the new, we must rather see all the pros and cons. We are not here to say that people should live in a parallel world without measuring all the consequences of a new decision. But we want to stress that yes we can and must analyze all situations, but we must not forget our capacity, motivation and potential.
Make a survey of your goals, write them down. Analyze what might paralyze you and work on it before it happens.
3- How you see yourself makes all the difference.
“If you think you can or think you can’t, anyway you’re right.” (Henry Ford)
“We also saw there giants, sons of Anaque, descendants of the giants; and we were in our eyes like locusts, and so were we in his eyes.” (Numbers 13:33)
The way you see yourself influences all your future attitudes. If we find ourselves powerless in the face of situations and our mind is conditioned to think that we cannot, we will hardly succeed.
Our mind needs to be focused on positive thoughts. Success begins from within, with thoughts you can and you are able. Focus on what’s going to work.
Many times we create in our minds barriers, even in our relationships. We believe that others see us in a way, which is actually our vision of ourselves.
So first love yourself, see yourself as the son of God with a greater purpose so that your vision is not misrepresented. We like to use as an example the flight attendant’s instruction during a flight. First put on your oxygen mask so you can help each other. Keep your thoughts aligned, so it will be easier to help others.
In the meantime, do not believe that most are always right and will lead you to the best place. Understand the challenges, do an analysis with all the negative points, but then think about all the positives and how you are strong and able to win if you start seeing. Be positive! Your mind has more power than you can imagine.
