I used to have a warped sense of reality.

I used to be scared.

I used to objectify women.

I used to covet.

I used to judge rich people and obese people.

I used to think I knew it all.

I used to be afraid to speak in public.

I used to be a totally different person.

But then I filtered the noise.

People view the world and their place in it in many different ways. Ultimately, this view has a major effect on our behaviors, self-esteem, choices, relationships, and the way we live our life. Once our perspective changes, so will our life. Sometimes it does happen in an instant. Sometimes it takes a long time.

We all have default or automatic thought patterns which are influenced by the way we’ve been conditioned, our upbringings, surroundings, and what’s absorbed by our minds—both directly and indirectly, consciously and subconsciously.

I haven’t always been or thought like I do today. But just like fitness training, I’ve spent a long time training my mind. Much of it just comes down to one simple thing you need to do: #FILTERTHENOISE.

Great minds don’t just let anything infiltrate their brains. With whatever is in your control, you have to filter what you watch, what you read, what you listen to, and who you hang out with. It makes a big difference.

God will do His part to change your life around, but you also have to do yours. There are simple action steps you need to take for total life transformation inside and out.

Here are 7 Practical Steps You Can Take To Change Your Perspective, Faith, & Life:

They may seem somewhat simple, or even unorthodox, but I’m telling you from personal experience, they will totally change your mental game. I have done, do, or will continue to do all of these.  For the sake of time and the lack of time you have to read through in depth information, I will keep the explanations to few liners to simply highlight the main points.

1. STOP WATCHING MAINSTREAM TELEVISION
It doesn’t mean you should never watch TV again. But if you haven’t done so yet, you should get away from it for awhile and watch what happens. You can come back to it, but you probably won’t want to for more than small doses.

2. STOP LISTENING TO NORMAL RADIO
Again I’m not saying you should never listen to sports talk radio or mainstream music ever again. When you become conscious of how it’s affecting you though, then you can control it better. There are just much better and more productive ways to use your time. For example, during your commute you can be silent and alone with your thoughts or listen to audio books or podcasts that are self-help, educational, and/or faith-based. The nourishment from what then penetrates your ear drums is far more advantageous to your positivity and productivity.

3. START READING QUALITY BOOKS
I say it in almost every speech I give, I never read books my entire life. Then one year I set a goal to read one book every week for the entire year, and it made such an impact on me that I still practice this habit every week. Reading keeps my gears turning and if I don’t do it, I feel like a dud. There are four main areas that I purchase books about: Faith, Family, Mindset, and Fitness/Nutrition.

4. RECITE YOUR OWN PERSONAL CREDO
When I changed my life around I had to talk to myself a lot. I know, sounds crazy. But I had a lot of negative cobwebs to get rid of so I had to seep positive messages into my brain to get that garbage out. I wrote up a personal credo that I read and recited every morning until it became such a habit that it actually still pops into my head first thing in the morning every day. It’s essentially a prayer about what I’m grateful for, what I need help with, and a request for God to use me as he should every single day I walk on this earth.

5. WRITE OUT YOUR LIFE STORY
This doesn’t have to look any certain way, just start writing out from the day you were born until now and even envision the future. Plot out the pivotal moments in your life that greatly impacted you both positively and negatively to what you want people to say when they’re standing at your funeral one day. I will say this, writing out my life story was one of the most therapeutic and beneficial things I’ve ever done. Knowing where you were, where you’re at, and where you are going is a crucial road map. And trust me, share it with others. Your story does matter and people want and need to hear it.

6. MEET 1 ON 1 WITH A MENTOR OR DISCIPLESHIP FRIEND
For anyone that wants to take it to the next level in life, this step is a must. We’re talking about accountability, relate-ability, checkpoints, support, and major motivation. I meet with a few guys who mentor me and I mentor a few guys one on one. Both are necessary and both will teach you a lot about yourself.  There are all types of impact. Large group impact, small group impact, and one on one impact. Without a doubt, one on one impact has been the most powerful on strengthening my faith.

7. EXPERIENCE DIVERSE PEOPLE AND ENVIRONMENTS
Obviously a very powerful step on changing our life’s lens is exposure to diverse populations and places. My major life turning point happened in the projects of Youngstown, Oh. I’ve done multiple week long service trips in state, out of state, and in a third world country. And my years as a social worker were invaluable in influencing how I see life today. You don’t have to go global to see that if you live in the U.S., you’re most likely very privileged. And that right there should fire you up to take advantage of all this life has to offer.

THERE ARE MAJOR BENEFITS TO TAKING THESE ACTION STEPS TO START FILTERING THE NOISE:

  • You’ll stay on track.
  • You’ll be authentic to who you are and who God designed you to be.
  • You’ll adopt an “I care but I don’t care” attitude which is one of the most powerful ways to make the most of life.
  • You’ll be fulfilled.
  • You’ll start making things happen instead of wishing and waiting for them to happen.
  • You’ll start giving and sharing so much love to others and in return, you’ll receive more than you can even handle.

You should probably stop wondering if any of these steps are actually going to work. Try putting one or all of them into practice and watch what starts to unfold. It’s not going to happen overnight and it’s not going to be easy. But I can guarantee you this, if you start filtering the noise today, it will be an absolute game-changer for you and everyone in your life.

#ItsNotAboutUs

Coach Theo