The rise and fall of having peace

For my second arty-cle, my coach, mentor and friend, Mr. James Rice from the Global Equipping Centre agreed to answer a few questions for my blog. I have a very high regard for James because James is probably one of the wisest people I know, to me he is a modern-day king Solomon and have coached me for 3 years now, and if I may add through some of the worst times of my life, and every time I came out the other side of my heart aches stronger and better.

A lot of my friends and family always described their advice to me when I face tough decisions as that I will know what is the right choice if I feel at peace. In other words, feelings of Peace are an indication of whether we are making the right decision.

At the same time, I had a few sad obstacles in my life that I am now thankful for because I grew from them. I am a person who enjoys my comfort zone and having routine’s but at the same time routine can bore me and I feel trapped in my own comfort space when I am not experiencing growth or adventure. Thus, I believe that without discomfort we as humans cannot grow or better ourselves. I believe if it hurts to talk about it or think about it, that is exactly what you should do.

Based on the above beliefs I only had two very important questions for James:

1. How can we be sure that the peaceful feelings we have when deciding is not just because we want to stay in our comfort space.

2. How do we know if we are growing from discomfort or being moved in the wrong direction?

James told me that to answer these questions, I need to distinguish between peace and rest. We are all to be at rest throughout our activity, this is different from peace. He agrees that mentally I may not have peace when I am out of my comfort zone, but I should have peace in my soul and in my heart. James also said that rest is extremely fruitful, there may be discomfort but you are being highly fruitful.

James gave me an Illustration of being at rest:

1. When you say, I choose to, not I have to you are at rest

2. Only a few things really matter when you are at rest, if you are not at rest, everything is overwhelmingly important

3. When you are at rest, you will feel comfortable to as what are the trade off’s? When you are not at rest you will ask how can I fit it all in (usually by myself)

4. When you are at rest, you make time to pause in your day to discern what really matters (at least 15 min, twice a day) Robert Povey suggest sleeping for 30min a day during the day, Robert Povey says he is re-energise thereafter. Using certain essential oils can also clear your mind when you have creative work to do (especially reflection)

A person not at rest, is constantly being pushed by not resting

5. Being at rest says yes to the essential, not being at rest says yes to everything and everyone.

6. When you are at rest, obstacles are being removed, when you are not at rest you are trying to force execution at the last minute.

7. Being at rest means you choose carefully to do great work- not being at rest means taking on too much and the work suffer (try doing everything) Remember, you need a great team to do things.

8. Being at rest will make you feel in control- When you are not at rest, everything especially you are feeling out of control

9. Being at rest means you are getting the right things done- not being at rest means you are unsure if the right things did get done.

10. When you are at rest you are experiencing joy in the journey- when you are not at rest the journey feels exhausting and draining or even tedious.

Definition of Rest:

cease work or movement to relax, sleep, or recover strength.

be placed or supported to stay in a specified position.

an instance or period of resting.

an interval of silence of a specified duration

In my layman terms: when you are at rest, you can recover strength, you are supported in a specified position (supported in positions like your work or place in your family or friend circle), resting your emotions, you have silence for a specified time, you demand silence from external influences. - rest is a time to re-cooperate, it’s a focussing time, a reflecting time. It is a deliberate action of choice to improve productivity.

Definition of peace:

freedom from disturbance; tranquillity.

a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended.

In my layman terms: no war, challenges, pain, hurt, negativity, disturbance- but the down side to peace is a lack of growth and production.

James also gave me advice on how to grow from discomfort-

He said that we know we are at the right place, at the right time, with the right people and even the right mentality and emotional state (e.g. Being thankful and having faith and trust and respect) when money naturally flows from our labour.

The way to earn more is to be more productive, the more we do, the more we can do, the less we do, the less we believe we can do. The opposite feeling of peace is discomfort, but we need discomfort and rest to grow (not necessarily peace), if you don’t experience discomfort it may be that you are no longer in the right place. Remember if your dream doesn’t scare you, you are not dreaming big enough.

So, where is the money flowing from in your life? Make sure you start using your talents and skills and a meeting with James and the GEC will also help you, as it did me. James uses one major unlocking question that helps people to grow personally and professionally. If you are interested to start your own amelioration journey go check out their website ( www.thegecsa.com) and book a meeting to find out more about their coaching program.

The Global Equipping Centre

(e) email@thegecsa.com

(f) 086 239 9300

Johannesburg office: (011) 482 1627

Mpumalanga office: 083 412 1210