Why Over-Thinking Leads to Death!

Beads of sweat slither down my forehead. My heart beats violently.

A voice shrieks at me: “Mark, you’re going to die. You’re losing your mind. What the hell is wrong with you!?”

“I don’t know!” I yell back. “What the hell is wrong with me!? They are all going to know I’m a fake. A failure. A-”

Bam! A cold gush of water slaps me in the face, jolting me back into the moment, and out of the conversation taking place inside my head. I look at myself in the public bathroom mirror, grabbing a handful of brown paper towels, saying out loud, “get a freakin grip, Mark,” while wiping my face dry.

This is a situation I’ve allowed myself to be in more times than I can even remember. This is why I dropped speech class 4 times in college, why I would drop a class where I had to do any type of public speaking, and why I drank at least 10+ beers when in any type of social gathering so that I would be the life of the party. So that people would “like me.”

People were so confused. They saw this outgoing, charismatic dude the night before, and then a complete introvert the next day. If they asked me about this, I’d worry about it even more. The voices in my head would start rattling off again…and I’d end up back into the bathroom splashing water on my face, hoping to get a grip-sometimes I’d even make up a lie, so I could quickly escape into the isolation of my car, which was my security blanket.

I remember reading a scripture at random one evening that read: “For the Spirit God gave us does NOT make us timid, but gives us power, love, and self-discipline.” 2 Timothy 1:7

I’d been raised going to Church, but for the first time I realized my faith was a flat out joke. I thought I believed, but my actions proved differently. I told God, “God, please forgive me for being such a p*ssy.” Seriously, I said this. I made a decision to believe the truth God has written about me. If I’m choosing to be timid, I’m actually choosing to not believe God. If I’m choosing to be powerful, then I’m believing God’s truth.

Believing that I am powerful, became the foundation of my actions. This is how I persevered to take speech class and conquer it. This is how I chose to quit drinking. This is how I graduated from college.

Flash forward 12 years later and I am the owner of a company, Dreamshine, which we built from the ground up, that serves over 35 individuals with special needs amazingly. I have 14 employees (The Dream Team,) and continue to grow as a serving leader in every area of my life. I co-host a podcast, Elevating Beyond, that got over 300,000 downloads within 1 year of launching. I’m an author, having just released my first published book, The Story of You, two months ago. I’ve been married to my beautiful wife for almost 10 years, and we have 5 amazing children.

I do not say this to brag! As a matter a fact, I’ve failed tremendously throughout this journey, and I’ve also succeeded amazingly.

Failure and Success Coexist, just Like Faith & Doubt.

I will continue to do both as a life long journey, always striving to better my best, but knowing I will never be perfect, and that’s okay. God knows this, it’s why He sent his freakin son to DIE for us. Because we are ALL broken, but made perfect THROUGH HIM.

So shut up, and know that you are broken, but BELIEVE the TRUTH: YOU are PERFECT through Him.

BELIEVE.

Here’s my point, it’s okay to think and reflect, but do not dwell or else you will become paralyzed. You will kill your dreams. You will be dead. Sure your heart is beating, but this is not living. Especially if you claim to believe in God. Being paralyzed, running away from the amazing dreams God has bestowed upon you, is not living. It’s actually a disgrace. I’m living proof you can overcome anything and live a life with no limitations if you CHOOSE to believe that through Christ ALL things are possible.

I’m so sick of all these Christians preaching the sermon but NOT living it. Being a coward and knowing every Bible verse is worse than just being a coward. Because if you know every Bible verse, then your courage will come when you choose to BELIEVE and put your faith to action. Putting your faith to action does NOT mean the absence of fear. It means DOING what God is calling you to do at any given time, regardless of the fear you are FEELING. This is what courage truly is-Courage comes in the doing, taking action, even though you feel terrified.

So next time some “expert” tries to convince you otherwise, you need to stand firm in the truth that the greatest expert, God, has written about you. You have limitless power and through Christ ALL things are possible, but I cannot believe this for you. God cannot believe this for you.

You must believe this truth YOURSELF. Then you must apply action to your faith, or it will DIE.

You think I’m exaggerating!? Read it for yourself: “In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” -James 2:17-

And when you do, your life will never be the same…

Ready to start REALLY LIVING YOUR DREAMS, check out my book:

The Story of You, Transforming Adversity into Adventure, Taking Your Dreams to The Next Level and Beyond.

Click Here to Buy it Now & Start Living Your Adventure https://www.amazon.com/Story-You-Transforming-Adversity-Adventure-ebook/dp/B017RAZZ0U/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1448995893&sr=1-1&keywords=personal+transformation 

Check Out Our Podcast, Elevating Beyond, where we have a 3 word Mission Statement: Change Freakin Lives on iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/elevating-beyond-mark-minard/id950099063?mt=2

Or Check out our webpage, and share your story of courage, for a chance to be a featured guest! ElevatingBeyond.com