A speaker tells men trapped in self-defeating beliefs that their negative identity is a lie they keep choosing. He argues that pride, whether inflated or diminished, keeps you stuck, and that the path out is taking responsibility and investing in yourself as someone capable of more.
If you are who you say you are, then what binds you to this version of you that you claim to be? You know what it is? Choices. See, every single day that you wake up and you perpetuate a narrative about how you're a terrible father, a terrible husband, a terrible person, how you're a failure, that you're not good enough, that you won't succeed, that you're unlovable. Guess what you do? You create a self-fulfilling prophecy that you live out. We can all agree that our beliefs are extremely powerful, and beliefs are nothing more than feelings of absolute certainty that govern our behaviors. See, we act in accordance with what we believe. And when you believe negative things about who you are, you make the choices that reflect those beliefs, and you live that out. Your life becomes congruent with the things that you think most often, the things that you believe most often. And what happens is you live out this story further perpetuating this story about who you are and what you can't overcome and who you won't become. And you're so fixated and focused on where you've been and what you've done instead of focusing on where you're going and who you're becoming. Let me ask you this: would you ever enter a fight and expect to win that fight by believing you're gonna lose? Then why would you ever enter the situation that you're in right now? And expect to overcome it with a negative, self-defeated attitude about who you're called as. See, the crazy thing is, is God says that you're more than a conqueror. And sometimes we think, right, that pride is thinking more of ourselves than other people. But you know what else pride is? Pride is also thinking less of yourself, because what you're saying is, no, God, I'm not going to listen to who you called me to be, that I'm more than a conqueror. I'm gonna listen to who I say I am. And guess what that does? It keeps you in a state where you actually don't act and behave in accordance with something greater. You are not obligated to the version of you that you are today. You are not obligated to the version of you that you were yesterday. And you, my brother, listen to me right now. You need to stop identifying with the negative things that people project onto you. That's the first step. Yeah, you've made mistakes. Yeah, you've fallen short. Yeah, you failed in some areas. But failure in reality is really just a mindset, because it only happens when you stop trying. And that's what's happened with you. Why, my brother? Why have you stopped trying? Is that really you loving yourself, loving your life, and loving everybody around you? It starts with you. But see, you have to begin investing in you. You have to believe that you can. This is the growth mindset. You can't sit back in a state of self-defeat. You can't sit back in a state and in a narrative that is only doing what? Keeping you trapped in emotional incarceration. And you have the key, and you're sitting back in the bondage of your own self-destruction, perpetuating lies. And what is the enemy doing? Laughing, laughing. Because he has you right where he wants you. He has a man of God with so much purpose, so much potential, so much, so much impact, with a beautiful heart, a good man that this world needs. And he's got you believing that you're trash, that you're not good enough, that you're worthless, that you're unlovable. Let me tell you, brother, I can relate to that. But you know what else I can relate to? The comeback. And people like to tell a thousand stories about someone's downfall and make a thousand YouTube videos about it. But you know what else people love? A comeback story. Bro, this is your comeback.
