You must put on the armor that reflects the victory you are
going to get. Strip off the mourning
sack and put on the full armor of joy!
Everything is a strategy. What
you wear affects how you feel. If you
look like you are going to a funeral, you will feel like you are going to a
funeral. If you look like you are going
to a party, you will feel like you have much to celebrate. I wear bright colors on gloomy days on
purpose. I have decided that I will be
my own sunshine on the cloudy days of my life. This is not just superfluous fashion
choices. It is creating an intention to
be joyful, deciding to be joyful, and showing up joyfully.
Joy is not something that happens by chance. It is an intention. It is a decision. It is an action. As I was writing this article, I decided to
move outside to enjoy the sunshine. The
sunshine is a natural muse for me and I write best in the sunshine. I was initially on my backporch. But I assaulted by a congregation of
mosquitos ready to feast on me in my joyfully colored kaftan. I sprayed
my repellant on surrounding areas to avoid the massive onslaught, but there
were a few jokers persistently buzzing around me. I decided to forgo writing on the back porch
and move to the front porch. I was about
to begin fussing about why the world has mosquitos when I remembered what I was
writing about and quickly dismissed that pointless tirade. The mosquitos are with us and fussing was not
going to alleviate me of them. So I put
on the Full Armor of Joy and redirected my thoughts to the joy I could find on
the front porch and resumed writing.
You see, the true Full Armor of Joy begins in your
thoughts. I could sit here on my front
porch sans mosquitos squandering this joyful moment if I allowed my thoughts to
dwell on the thwarted attempt to write in my favorite spot. It just didn’t go as planned. There is just
as much joy on the front porch as there is on the back porch. Because joy is where I find it. Joy is where I decide it will be. Joy is where you believe it is. It is truly important to embrace the power of
thinking joyful thoughts as the pathway for living a joyful life.
But don’t stop on joyful thoughts. Your thoughts are just empty vision until you
empower them with action. You must
position yourself for joy. You must
position yourself for victory. You must
position yourself for the blessings you SAY you are ready to receive. Imagine if you ask someone to throw you a
ball. You think about catching the
ball. You think about the ball coming at
you. You think about how great it will
be when you catch the ball. But you just
stand there thinking. You don’t
move. You don’t hold your hands out to
receive the ball. Well, in addition to
getting popped in the face with the ball, you’re not going to get the
ball. Life works the same way.
You must position yourself to “catch” the joy you want to
receive in life. You’ve get to
move. You’ve got to move joyfully. You’ve got to move expectantly. You’ve got to
move with confidence that you’ll catch it.
Positioning yourself for joy means getting prepared for the next
step. It means speaking of what you say
you want as if it is already happening.
It’s the equivalent of wanting to be a world traveler and applying for
your passport even though the trip is not planned yet. So many people claim to want to travel the
world yet don’t have a passport. Get
your passport and be ready when your international opportunity presents itself. Position yourself expecting to catch you’ve
said you desire.
Many times, you will hear the saying, “Fake it until you
make it.” I believe this is more aptly
worded, “Project it until you manifest it.”
Projecting the joy you want in your life begins in the words you use to
describe yourself. You can’t expect to
win calling yourself a loser all of the time.
You can’t expect to be wealthy calling yourself broke all the time. Affirmations are a powerful way to project
what you want to manifest. This is not
creating reality out of thin air, but creating the expectation by framing your
mind in the terms of what you desire. We
are influenced by our environment. We
are influenced by what we see and hear.
It makes an impression and you store it subconsciously. You then recall that when you see
associations with the memory. It influences
how you feel, how you act, and what you do.
Imagine how powerfully you can influence your life when you immerse
yourself in words and images that reflect what you desire in life. When I hear my affirmations, I believe I can
be them. When I believe I can be them, I
make choices that align with them. When
I make choices that align with them, I begin to see the real-life
outcomes. Projections are manifestations
of the vision you say you believe that create powerful influences that shape
your actions, behaviors, and choices.
Whether you realize it or not, you project the energy you
want to receive. Imagine when you are
angry. How do people respond to
you? Do they show up are happy and
joking? Typically not. They may avoid you or respond in kind. I have realized that I have the power to
create the energy that I want to receive.
When I show up with positive energy either people respond in kind or
leave because they don’t want to be positive.
Fine with me! I have found that I
have the power to turn any bad situation into a positive one by the energy I
give it. If I give it angry or negative
energy, the momentum builds and the situation remains angry or negative. When I decide to be joyful in the midst of the
negativity, I keep my peace and create the joy I want for myself.
Regardless of how things are for you, you decide how you are
going to show up. Put on the Full Armor
of Joy—Your outfit, your thoughts, your affirmations, your environment, your
actions, and your energy. The full Armor
of Joy is your way of creating the joy you deserve and desire. Whether it’s joy in your career or
relationships or finances or your life.
It all begins with your intentions.
It all begins with you. When
decide to be joyful and put on the Full Armor of Joy, negativity can’t get
through.
