Foundation is Key

​In Matthew 5:16 Jesus says, “No one sews a patch of unshrunk [new] cloth on an old garment, for the  patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.”

If you truly want to change your life, you must start with a solid foundation. As in the patch discussed above, you must first shrink the patch so that it matches the material on the coat, because when the garment is washed, the new patch will shrink and cause tears in the old fabric.

Let's take a look at Matthew 9:17 where Jesus says the same thing in a different way: "Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”  Once again, if the foundation (the wineskin) isn't proper, the wine cannot be poured into it.

Imagine you are a Nuclear Physicist. You walk up to a police officer, a person who is educated in criminology, and decide you will begin discussing all the intricacies of how fusion and nuclear reactions work on a molecular level. He may look at you with a strange look on his face. This is because there is a mismatch in the information given with the foundation of the police officer's education.

The only way the police officer will be able to truly understand what the physicist is saying would be to not only research nuclear physics, but also understand the scientific method as a whole through practice and finding others who are familiar with this information as well.

The same can be said for your current lifestyle. Does that lifestyle match what you're trying to accomplish? If you're trying to become a fitness coach, would you sit around and watch tv most of the time, or would you start exercising? Would you emulate someone who has already done what you are trying to do? Perhaps you'd even provide free fitness coaching to start practicing. 

Providing yourself with safety and stability, a healthy diet, limiting toxic interactions with others, and creating great habits provides a great initial foundation in which to start any goal, providing fertile ground to plant the seeds of success so to speak. This is why the first degree in the 8 Degrees of Transformation is self-reflection. It illustrates how we must first look within ourselves, be honest, and accept what truly needs to change. It is through our weekly goal work that we create ongoing change to maintain the foundation we've set.

Example goals and habits to help provide a great foundation:

• I will stop eating junk food after 7 PM.
• I will research 5 articles on proper methods of eating healthy.
• I will read 20 chapters of scripture every week.
• I will research 5 articles on dealing with toxic relationships.
• I will start saving money each week so I can reach financial goals.
• I will maintain my emails 5 of 7 days per week.
• I will go to bed at 10 PM on week nights.

I hope this helps, friends! Please feel free to reach out and let me know how my material has helped you along your path. I would love to hear from you!

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