How to View Life with Hope, Joy, and Peace in Midlife

Beautiful Braveheart, so good to be with you again. If this is your first time catching me, I'm Dawn Damon, known as the Braveheart Mentor, and I come to you every week with real conversations for midlife women, whether we're talking about our bodies or our attitudes. Or whether we're having a Braveheart story where I interview a woman who, in the second half of life, did something audacious and brave and courageous, and changed the script that life had given her. She took control of her life, and I share those stories with you to impart to you courage and bravery and to ignite a fire that says, you know what? God has great things in store for you. God has a plan for us. He's written our story, and he wants to invite us to join him in it. So, I hope that will encourage you to take the time to go back and do a little binging on some of the shows that I've provided for you. But today I wanna talk to you about the way you look at things.

Now, I gotta be honest with you, and if you're listening to this on podcasts, I really invite you to jump over to YouTube so you can catch some of the visuals, but. I really do own a pair of rose colored glasses. Yes, I do. You're seeing me in them right now, and when I'm wearing these beautiful creatures, everything in life looks great. Rose colored lenses, besides being quite fashionable, which you can obviously see that I am, my surroundings become bright, they become cheery. Everything flowers are touched with a hint of rose, glow, and beauty like they didn't have before. Four and skies are dusted with shades of pink looks like a beautiful sunset or sunrise. Radiant. I feel warm. I feel at peace. The world is great. I'm happy. Sounds nice, doesn't it? Of course. But wait, there is a story because I also have another pair of lenses that I can wear. I have a dark pair of glasses, and when I'm sporting these. Guess what? The bright hues of the roses are gone. They're missing. Instead, the horizon feels dull and bleak and drab. I feel tired, lifeless. I wanna take a nap. My outlook is altered by the choice of lenses that I wear, and the reality is that the world doesn't change simply because I swap glasses. I'm viewing what I'm viewing. It is what it is, as my son loves to say on a regular basis. But the lens that I choose to wear changes the way I see the world. The way I see the world affects how I feel. And that's what I wanna talk to you about today, because you have the power of choice. That is what is so important for you to remember and realize: I have the power of choice. I get to decide how I want to interpret my world, and that decision colors everything.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Charles Swindoll. He's a ministry leader, and he wrote a book many years ago, but one of the quotes is that life is 10%. What happens? Okay, just get that for a minute. 10% what happens and 90% of how I choose to respond to it or how I choose to view it. 90% of life depends on my attitude. We have much more control in our lives than we think. We're not just victims of things that are happening or happenstance. We do have the power of decision-making, and we have the power of our attitude. I teach this all the time, and I've been practicing it in my life. These are words that I live by, and they're not always easy. I admit that, but this principle keeps me anchored. Maybe I feel it, I visit it. I gripe a little bit, but I'm quick to reframe my perspective to put my rose colored glasses on, or even if I am looking through the dark, dusty gray lenses. I say, okay, this is what's going on. It's sad, it's hard, it's hurtful. What do I wanna do about it? Amidst the gray and stormy experiences of life, I still have to choose what I wanna do and how I wanna evaluate my life.

One time I was visiting with a 20-year-old, something young girl, and. She blurted out to me, My life sucks. My life sucks. Nobody cares about me. Everyone's against me. I hate my life. I hate everything. I said, Wow. I said, That's a sad perspective. We talked a little bit, and I said, How would you like to change that? What would you like to see differently? Nothing. Well, is there anything that maybe you could be thankful for? No. There's nothing good in my life. Now, I asked her those questions because I know her. I know her life. I know she has a lot of beautiful things in her life. She has a lot of amazing things to be thankful for. The problem is, and was, that she wouldn't take off those dark gray lenses. She wouldn't reframe the way she was looking at her circumstances. I know she had beautiful things worth praising God for, but all she would do. All she wanted and all she focused on was the unfair, unhappy, hurtful circumstances of life and all the ways that many people had hurt her in her mind. It's a sad way to go through life.

Now, I happen to know that in midlife, sometimes we let our guards down instead of becoming better and the best version of ourselves, as we often hear people talk about. Instead of doing that, oftentimes we let our guard down and we find ourselves being rather mouthy or opinionated. Or impatient or short, we find ourselves irritated and aggravated with young people. Has that happened to you? And they're like, just so dizzy, and you wanna just spark at 'em. Those are all pop quizzes. I say they're tests from God. There are opportunities to change the way you're looking at things, to put on those rose colored glasses to say, you know what? I'm going to purge my mind of negativity and self-defeating thoughts. I'm going to turn my heart toward Jesus and toward Philippians 4, whatever's good and pure, and right, and noble and worthy of praise. I'm gonna think about these things. Now, I'm not suggesting that we brush off wounds casually. I'm not suggesting that life doesn't inevitably bring really painful circumstances. I've been betrayed. I've been stabbed in the back. I've been hurt. I've been abused. I've been molested. I've had seriously painful things happen in my life. If I'm being honest. I would confess that I've probably also been the person who brought pain to someone. No one gets out of this life unscathed, and nobody gets outta this life completely innocent. But once again, life is 10% what happens and 90% how we choose to view it and what we wanna do about it. So I'm gonna give you two truths that I have learned. I know that they're true. I know that they work and I wanna share 'em with you.

Number one, our joy and our peace follow an attitude choice that says, No matter what life throws at me, I am an overcomer through Jesus and his victory. I will feel this. I will face this. And then I'll make a quality decision very quickly that I'm moving forward, and I'm gonna be an overcomer. Now, I'm not saying we sweep it under the rug. You have permission to process and heal for as long as that takes, but admit that process for me. I continually keep intact my commitment that I will overcome. I will be restored, I will be healed. I thank you, Lord, for that healing. Even now, as I speak to God, you are bringing healing to me. That is my confession. That's how I stand, and so I feel my pain. I acknowledge it. I don't dismiss it, but I don't give it more power over my life than it needs to. I do not become a victim of my circumstances. I suggest that you don't either, because when we make the right decision, you know what follows that? Hope, joy, and peace. I know I might still be in the process, but I have confidence and peace in my heart. I'm gonna get through it. The sun will come out tomorrow. I am going to survive this.

And the second thing that I wanna share with you is when you do choose that mindset of victory, it changes the story that we are telling ourselves. Because I have to be honest with you, behind every feeling or every negative word that comes outta your mouth, there's a dialogue. There's a story or a narrative going on in your mind and in your thoughts. That you're telling yourself about your situation that is truly predicting, creating, and you're demonstrating the way you feel. It's creating emotions and feelings, defeat, and despair. That's what happens when you fellowship with negativity. You become negative if the story you're telling yourself is something like this. I'm never good enough. Nobody ever, ever compliments me for what I do. The management knows it too. I'm just not good enough. I suck at this job. Nobody thinks I'm worth loving, so forget them. I don't need that. Forget these people. Life is unfair. You know? Everyone has people to help them. I'm alone. I don't have anyone. This trial is just too much for me. I can't do it. I can't stand up. I'll never get over it. If you're thinking those kinds of thoughts. If you're stuck in a loop of despair and defeat, I encourage you to start writing down some affirmations of who God says you are and what he promises for you in your future. They're not just affirmations, they're activations. They change the way you feel because those discouraging inner narratives are stripping you. They're stealing from you. They're whispers of the enemy who comes to steal, kill, and destroy. Those thoughts are taking your confidence and your strength, and your motivation.

But when we choose that mindset of victory and we say, I am overcoming, guess what? It automatically happens. We start telling ourselves a better story, a true, more true, a truer story. The life we face with courage begins to change. We keep our joy and our inner peace. We say, you know what? I might not know everything about this job, but I can learn. I'm smart. I can do this. I am lovable, and I have faithful people in my life, and they will help me if I reach out. I know life is unfair, but God is with m,e and I can make it with the help of God. His favor is upon me. That's what the word of God says in this trial. It's come to pass. I will go through this. In victory, I will overcome. through Jesus Christ. I will not be defeated. You see the difference? How do you feel now? I feel exhorted and lifted up, and powerful.

Like I can run through a wall because God has just strengthened my spirit. That's what the psalmist and King David said all the time. Hey soul, you're gonna obey me. Why are you downcast? Put your hope in God. Put your mind on God. And when we do that, we cultivate a life we cultivate. Rose colored glasses, if you will. We cultivate an attitude that will help us make it through. So let me ask you, what color lenses are you wearing? Are you the dark, dusty, drab gray lenses? Are you like Pigpen in the Snoopy cartoon, where there's just this dust cloud of dirt and gloom constantly following him? I'm not suggesting that you be Pollyanna and everything is gonna turn out good. Life hurts. I understand that. You might be hurting right now. I get that. But I wanna just remind you that you have the power of choice. Put your faith in God. He's not gonna let you be destroyed. And even though you might be going through a very painful time, I've been there, I've been there recently. I know this pain will come to an end. There's an appointed season where this trial will end. I will come through. I am an overcomer. That is my destiny. That is my inheritance in God. That is my promise. So, are you willing to let God put his lenses on you, so that you'll see things the way he sees them?

The Bible tells us in Ephesians 2:6 that we're seated with Jesus in the heavenlies at the right hand of the Father. That means we're looking down, just like Jesus says, we're looking down on circumstances. Don't ever let yourself say, Well, under the circumstances, things could be better. What are you under the circumstances for? You're seated above. That means positionally, attitudinally. Is that a word in your attitudinal? Make sure that you recognize that all of this stuff is under your feet. You are gonna be gloriously victorious. You are a champion. You are God's daughter. So Jesus opened our eyes that we could see your power and your glory. Amen.

If you need transformation in your life, I wanna tell you that I spent well over a year writing a book called The Making of a BraveHearted Woman: Courage, Confidence, and Vision in Midlife. You can see that on Amazon. And then I really felt like the book was so powerful and I was getting such wonderful feedback that I thought it. Deserves more. You deserve more, and I turned it into a course, a work at your own pace. Of course, I do coaching, but I also made this a standalone course so that you could go through it as fast or as slow as you wanted. If you wanna reignite your confidence, you're ready to awaken that courage. You're ready to change your perspective. If you wanna step into your God-given gifts with clarity and leave second-guessing behind. If you're ready to walk in forgiveness, walk in the spirit, and let the past be the past, and bravely step into a new future with the identity that God has spoken over you. This course is for you. It will help you. For the woman who knows she's meant for more, and hopes that's you. This is your moment to rise. Visit bravehearted woman.com/bravehearted-transformation. Those links are in the show notes for you. Alright, y'all, I'm gonna leave you like I always do, and maybe add just a thing or two. Oh, now I've gone to rhyming. You're an overcomer. You're a daughter of the king. You are who God says you are. You're forgivable, you're beautiful, you're important, you're chosen, and God has a great plan for your life. So, I think it's time for you to find your brave and live your dreams!