Change Is Good
I've become quite the John Mayer fan in the past few years. I never really listened to him until I met a guy from my church, who's blessed with mad guitar skills, who was/is a huge Mayer fan. You probably know what went through my mind..."Rob's into John Mayer, maybe I should and it will help me develop mad guitar skills too."
I enjoyed Mayer's latest album, Continuum, but I don't quite agree with just waiting on the world to change. I think the way the world is going to change is if we step up and do something about it - go through that personal paradigm shift. The world isn't going to change overnight but it can change if individuals change. It's about starting small and working up to something big. I think for the world to change, there has to be a complete change of attitude and mindset in each and every single person. That's the only way to achieve lasting change.
I've changed a lot since arriving here in Australia. Some of it had to do simply with living on my own. Other changes occurred because of adaptations to the new environment (ie. putting on sunscreen every morning before going to class because if I don't I'll get sunburned). I believe God has a lot more changes in store for me in the coming years.
Good Changes:
Eating breakfast everyday: I used to skip the most important meal of the day because I'd never give myself enough time in the morning. It's funny because I still give myself 1.5 hrs to get ready in the morning. The only difference is that I have a 10 minute walk to class compared to a 1 hr bus/train ride.
Exercising (a little...): So I'm still not getting much resistance training in but at least I'm doing a bit of running and playing basketball/volleyball here and there. Running has got to be the most boring activity ever. Motivation? Going to the beach every now and then.
Eating healthy: Back home I would easily down an entire large Costco-size bag of chips in a single sitting. My snack food would include instant noodles, frozen pizzas, pie, ice cream...you get the idea. The solution now is to just not keep any of the aforementioned foods in my apartment. Been eating a lot more fruit instead. There has been the odd box of chocolate chip cookies or Tim-Tams...
Doing my dishes right away: My parents would vouch for how I'd leave dishes lying around all the time. But I soon realized that it's so much easier to wash them right away. Actually, it's the guilt of having to share stuff with my roommates. I suspect if we weren't sharing pots and pans and the kitchen, I probably wouldn't have changed...
Started up my prayer journal: Lately, I've been trying to kick-start my prayer life once again by keeping my prayer journal updated. Without it I forget to pray for so many things. Hopefully, I can keep it updated and continue to check off all the awesome answered prayer!
Areas that Still Need Change:
Regular sleeping pattern: I'm still going to bed too late and not getting enough sleep. I really need to change this. My goal is to get on a 11pm-6:30am sleep routine by May.
Drink More Water: I think it's become worse now that I'm sweating most of the time as well. I probably only drink 1/4 of the amount of water I should be drinking everyday.
Waste less time: The guitar has been the biggest temptation in this department. In some ways, I'm glad our internet here sucks so much because I can't watch anything off YouTube or download music/movies even if I wanted to. Need to be more efficient.
Be a better witness for Christ: Living with non-Christians has been a huge challenge for me. They know that I'm a Christian and I need to be aware that I have a tremendous potential to influence them positively or negatively. It's really hard to not be lazy or to talk badly about someone or just to have a really negative attitude and complain about stuff. If I can reflect Christ in all I do, hopefully they will see what a difference it makes to have God in your life.
The great thing about not being picky when it comes to food is that I'll eat random combination leftover dishes - like this stir-fry of homemade sushi rolls, week-old bok choy and chicken.
I enjoyed Mayer's latest album, Continuum, but I don't quite agree with just waiting on the world to change. I think the way the world is going to change is if we step up and do something about it - go through that personal paradigm shift. The world isn't going to change overnight but it can change if individuals change. It's about starting small and working up to something big. I think for the world to change, there has to be a complete change of attitude and mindset in each and every single person. That's the only way to achieve lasting change.
I've changed a lot since arriving here in Australia. Some of it had to do simply with living on my own. Other changes occurred because of adaptations to the new environment (ie. putting on sunscreen every morning before going to class because if I don't I'll get sunburned). I believe God has a lot more changes in store for me in the coming years.
Good Changes:
Eating breakfast everyday: I used to skip the most important meal of the day because I'd never give myself enough time in the morning. It's funny because I still give myself 1.5 hrs to get ready in the morning. The only difference is that I have a 10 minute walk to class compared to a 1 hr bus/train ride.
Exercising (a little...): So I'm still not getting much resistance training in but at least I'm doing a bit of running and playing basketball/volleyball here and there. Running has got to be the most boring activity ever. Motivation? Going to the beach every now and then.
Eating healthy: Back home I would easily down an entire large Costco-size bag of chips in a single sitting. My snack food would include instant noodles, frozen pizzas, pie, ice cream...you get the idea. The solution now is to just not keep any of the aforementioned foods in my apartment. Been eating a lot more fruit instead. There has been the odd box of chocolate chip cookies or Tim-Tams...
Doing my dishes right away: My parents would vouch for how I'd leave dishes lying around all the time. But I soon realized that it's so much easier to wash them right away. Actually, it's the guilt of having to share stuff with my roommates. I suspect if we weren't sharing pots and pans and the kitchen, I probably wouldn't have changed...
Started up my prayer journal: Lately, I've been trying to kick-start my prayer life once again by keeping my prayer journal updated. Without it I forget to pray for so many things. Hopefully, I can keep it updated and continue to check off all the awesome answered prayer!
Areas that Still Need Change:
Regular sleeping pattern: I'm still going to bed too late and not getting enough sleep. I really need to change this. My goal is to get on a 11pm-6:30am sleep routine by May.
Drink More Water: I think it's become worse now that I'm sweating most of the time as well. I probably only drink 1/4 of the amount of water I should be drinking everyday.
Waste less time: The guitar has been the biggest temptation in this department. In some ways, I'm glad our internet here sucks so much because I can't watch anything off YouTube or download music/movies even if I wanted to. Need to be more efficient.
Be a better witness for Christ: Living with non-Christians has been a huge challenge for me. They know that I'm a Christian and I need to be aware that I have a tremendous potential to influence them positively or negatively. It's really hard to not be lazy or to talk badly about someone or just to have a really negative attitude and complain about stuff. If I can reflect Christ in all I do, hopefully they will see what a difference it makes to have God in your life.
The great thing about not being picky when it comes to food is that I'll eat random combination leftover dishes - like this stir-fry of homemade sushi rolls, week-old bok choy and chicken.Labels: Personal Reflection
posted by Matt at 6:08 PM
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