The 4 Spiritual Laws of Self-Renewal
That are required for fulfillment and personal growth.
“Genius is the ability to renew one’s emotions in daily experience.” — Paul Cezanne
We all go through valleys and peaks — but oftentimes those valleys can seem insurmountable and it seems making it back to the mountain top is a far away dream.
After all life is a series of peaks and valleys. It seems many of us get stuck in our valleys while some of us can make it back to the mountaintop — more agile, better than before and ready to take on the next challenge.
What makes the difference between those that have more mountaintop moments vs. those that seem stuck in the valley?
Without continuous, methodical, conscious efforts to renew ourselves we can become stuck in the “valley of dry bones”.
What Does Self-Renewal Mean?
Self-renewal — self-re·new·al is the process of renewing oneself. It is also the process of bringing ourselves more in line with our life purpose and values. In doing so, we also set the direction of progress in our lives (and by extension, humanity).
Do you harbour these valleys and gave them prominence in your life?
Vishen Lakhiani, Founder of Mindvalley — estimates that 99% of the world’s population on the planet is stuck in the “Victim Stage”. The stage where we harbor a victim mentality and self-pity.
Giving our valleys prominence, leads to missed opportunities and ultimately lack of growth . Borrowing from nature and human biology, our capacity for self-renewal hinges on the existence of personal growth factors.
A society’s ability to renew itself hinges upon its individuals. Young countries, businesses, and humans have several key commonalities: they are flexible, eager, open, curious, unafraid, and willing to take risks. These conditions lead to success. However, as time passes, so too comes complacency, apathy, and rigidity, causing motivation to plummet. It is at this junction that great civilizations fall, businesses go bankrupt, and life stagnates — John.W. Gardner
These 4 Spiritual Laws of Self-Renewal Outlines the Process of Self-Renewal and are critical to Reclaiming your Mountaintop:
1. Take a Personal Inventory
“He who knows others is wise; He who knows himself is enlightened.” — Lao-tzu (604–531 BC) Chinese Philosopher.
The very first step in taking a personal inventory is to survey your valley — are you standing with mostly dry bones? That failed relationship, depression, divorce, the death of a loved one, the business that failed or the career that never took off. These can physically, emotionally and spiritually consume our very existence and block any hope of self-renewal or personal growth.
A personal inventory that explores our deepest thoughts will bring to light:
- Negative Thoughts (Harboring the Valley): How much of our days are spent harboring negative thoughts that block opportunities and blessings;
2. Little Gratitude: How much of our day is spent pitying our personal situation with little thought or recognition of the small blessings on a daily basis;
3. No Forgiveness: How much have we really forgiven ourselves and others for past hurts and missed opportunities; and,
4. Misplaced Priorities: How much of our attention and effort is placed on actually achieving our personal mission or our goals.
Prayer, meditation and your intuition are also key in setting the direction in your life.
2. Set the Direction of Progress
“Life isn’t a train ride where you choose your destination, pay your fare and settle back for a nap. “It’s a cycle ride over uncertain terrain, with you in the driver’s seat, constantly correcting your balance and determining the direction of progress”. — John.W. Gardner
Many great leaders are considered great because they did something almost no one else believed was possible — they literally set the direction of progress for generations to come. They didn’t focus on just having a career or a job — they had a vision and a mission. For self-renewal, it is critical to refocus and set the direction of progress in your life. A new commitment to new priorities will also help keep hope alive.
Setting the direction of progress is the act of setting your goals and vision for your life. However, this isn’t about attaining position, fame and power — as the be all and end all. These goals should embody service to humanity and making the world a better place.
“Only a life lived in service to others is worth living”. — Albert Einstein
3. Renew your Hope & Motivation
“We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope”. — Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hope and optimism drives us forward to achieve our goals. It is that fierce optimism that can withstand all shocks, all mistakes, all barriers — that is needed for self-renewal. It is standing in the face of relentless obstacles and finding a pathway to succeed. Many extraordinary individuals employed fierce optimism, above all.
Winston Churchill almost single handedly kept hope alive for the Western world in the early days of World War Two when Hitler’s rule over Europe seemed unstoppable. He instilled hope with his words when almost everyone else had lost hope. Churchill decided he was going to stand up to Hitler even if no one else stood with him (for that first year of WWII, almost no one stood with him).
Similarly, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr, kept hope alive for millions amidst the degradation, and abuse of individual, and institutional racism. He did this by setting the sights of his followers on a better day. He helped them imagine a land where people were not judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
These great leaders set dreams much broader than themselves — their goals were bigger than generations after them could have even imagined. Their hope and optimism led to some of the greatest movements of our time and transformed humanity to become better, stronger and more resilient.
4. Spiritual Transformation
Transformation is a process, and as life happens there are tons of ups and downs. It’s a journey of discovery — there are moments on mountaintops and moments in deep valleys of despair. — Rick Warren
Spiritual transformation is fueled by a growing awareness of the reality of the soul. There is a conscious commitment to a life of self-discipline and active service in the world. Spiritual disciplines such as meditation, study and service become habits of daily living.
It becomes less about personal ego and worldly achievements.
“We can’t all get to the top, and that isn’t the point of life anyway”. — J.W. Gardner
Spiritual qualities such as compassion, wisdom, and inclusive love take center stage. Spiritual self-renewal means relinquishing your old limited identity and becoming something more expanded, powerful, and closer to your true self.
It is not enchained by what others think — or society’s dictates about what encompasses success (e.g. money, job-title etc.). With spiritual transformation, the focus of your life has gone through an evolution- its not focused on the valleys anymore — it’s now focused on turning those valleys into mountaintops — through serving humanity and achieving happiness in the now.
The transformed soul asks — what can I give to humanity? rather than what can humanity give to me?
“I know of no great man except those who have rendered great services to the human race”. — Voltaire
For more on Spiritual Self-Renewal check out my new book Holistic Wealth (Expanded and Updated): 36 Life Lessons To Help You Recover From Disruption, Find Your Life Purpose and Achieve Financial Freedom (Now Available for Preorder).
Please Visit: https://www.keishablair.com/holistic-wealth/ and learn more.
If you liked this article, click the💚 below so other people will see it here on Medium.
Resources:
Holistic Wealth Expanded and Updated Book by Keisha Blair
Holistic Wealth Workbook by Keisha Blair
