PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION

Success is not only the achievement of our personal set goals but who you are. Therefore, real success is most importantly the success of who you really are in God. A man can achieve set personal goals and still be a failure in life. But you cannot become who you are and not become a success.

CRITICAL FACTS TO NOTE
1. Personal transformation is not ‘what you achieve’ but ‘who you become’ in the process of time. It is the secret of success.
2. Personal transformation determines what you attract in life. In other words, life does not give you what you desire, but who you are on your inside. That is, the kind of opportunities and resources that you access is a reflection of the transformation within you.
3. Personal transformation is not the same as ‘self-improvement’; it is a difficult process that involves deeper investment of time, energy and resources. It is a life time adventure!

ANALOGIES OF PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
1. DIMENSIONAL ANALOGY: this could be described from "Building a cube rather than just improving a square." In this analogical concept, the borders of a square could be improved upon, thereby making it more attractive to sight, but it would still maintain same state and dimension of a square.  On the other hand, the square could undergo a transformative change if it grew into a cube. That means adding a dimension by going up and breaking out of the table top. That’s transformational change. The original square is still there, but now it is just one part of something profoundly enriched. Something just like that is possible for your life!
2. CHANGE OF STATE ANALOGY: this analogy comes from physics. Consider how water can go through changes as it is heated. When a change of state occurs, we have a good analogy for a transformational change. But look what is required. If we start with ice-cold water (32o F), it takes a certain amount of heat to warm that water to boiling hot, but still liquid, H2O at 212 degrees. But to get that water to transformationally change into steam, we have to add five times more energy than we invested in getting it from 32 to 212 degrees. That extra investment of energy can remind us of an important fact.
3. METAMORPHOSIS: this analogy is gotten from basic science. It is actually a process that occurs in insects. That is, the stages of development that begins from the egg stage to the adult stage, passing through the larva and pupa stages respectively.

KEYS TO PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
1. YOUR VISION: vision could be fundamentally defined as the picture of your future from where you are. If you have no vision you will have no future! Abraham could not record any meaningful transformation without vision. Vision connects you with who you are. Genesis 15:1-7.
All great success stories have this in common; including business, banking, manufacturing, spiritual etc. Therefore, without a vision, everywhere will look like the place.
2. YOUR THOUGHTS: you cannot experience real transformation without a change of thoughts. Great thoughts are products of deep thoughts. Until you start thinking like God you cannot develop to actually be who God has ordained you to become in life. Proverbs 23:7, Romans 12:2, Psalms 92:5.
This is not an easy process though. It is a process that involves fighting against all negative thoughts by pulling them down; it is a warfare activity. It will take the help of the Holy Ghost to really change the way you think.
3. YOUR WORDS: the scripture says, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” When you invest in your heart with great words you will soon start talking like God. I have come to discover that the person we hear mostly in life is ourselves. Learn the art of talking to yourself until you eradicate all forms of irrelevant things out of your life. In other words, you define whatsoever you become. Genesis 1, Romans 14:17.
4. YOUR ACTIONS: a wise man once said that, “success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration.” Until your actions are rightly in correlation you will not experience any meaningful transformation. Great men don’t just improve on themselves but grow into becoming who God created them to be from one dimension to the other. David grew from being a shepherd to becoming a king, Moses also transformed from being a shepherd to become a leader. 1Samuel 16:1-15, Exodus 3:1-10.
5. YOUR SELF -IMAGE: a man’s self-image is the picture of yourself inside you as an individual. This picture controls your life. You will never achieve anything contrary to the person you see constantly inside your sub-conscious (imagination). It is what controls your self-esteem. How you see yourself is the way the devil will see you.

CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIVIDUALS WITH WEAK SELF-IMAGE
1. A pessimistic outlook on life
2. Lack of confidence
3. Extreme sensitivity to the opinions of others
4. Self-consciousness about appearance, performance and status
5. A striving to become somebody or something in life
6. A critical and judgemental view of others
7. Defensiveness in conversation
8. Developing clinging relationships
9. Depending on material possessions for security
10. Transference of responsibility
11. Inability to accept praise; the feeling of not deserving success
12. Underestimation of self
13. Lamentation about the past and anxiety for the future

STEPS TO PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION
1. Capture a vision for yourself
2. Make a decision for transformation and not improvement
3. Detach yourself from past failure experiences, from wrong associations, ideologies, etc.
4. Make self-actualization your priority and not financial or material rewards
5. Don’t be afraid of failure; give your best to whatsoever you do
6. Take practical steps to brainwash yourself with God’s word
7. Give yourself to acquisition of new sets of information from inspired materials
8. Engage yourself in the art of meditation
9. Adopt God’s principles as your values
10. Organize your vision into practical SMART goals