Do not Repeat!

Have a Vision. Have a Plan. Then Change.

What do people gain from all their labors at which they toil under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever. The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises. The wind blows to the south and turns to the north; round and round it goes, ever returning on its course. All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again. All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing. What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which one can say, “Look! This is something new”? It was here already, long ago; it was here before our time. No one remembers the former generations, and even those yet to come will not be remembered by those who follow them. [Ecclesiastes 1:3-11}

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According to research, human’s brain is always active which enables us to do task and to think critically no matter what situation or condition the body is in. This makes us think for a much easier way to solve problems, to lessen the energy we use during thinking, and to have a more relaxed and comfortable living.

In our time today, most of the problems can now be solve easily with current technologies and gadgets we have. If we want to send message to our love one, we need not to write a letter and have it sent through post office, instead, we just type our message and within seconds the message is already received. If we want to cook noodles, we need not to wait for the cook to pull noodles and have the beef boiled till it softens, instead, we just open the stove, boil water, then put instant noodles and wait for 3 minutes, then, Voila! Your beef noodles.

Life becomes so easy, that people nowadays are beginning to be worried and troubled with how they became miserable and unfortunate. We become worried once we are out of the comfort and convenience of life. What we want is pleasure of the comfort and convenience of the tools we have today.

We, somehow, begin to have a circuit in our mind that defines life as just a pleasure and is like a repeating cycle of comfort and comfort alone. When we start to take control again, comfort fades and here comes the things to think of, the things to plan of, and the things to decide of. And when we do, we start to go back to what I call autopilot, or our comfort zone, where things are easy and less thinking and actions are required.

This creates the repetitive pattern that leads to the control of how you think, how you act and how you say things with the system of this world. This is evident when people rush to sales even they have enough, when they buy new phones when new version of their phone was released, and when a person say something and we tend to emphatically commune with them leading to a community contradicting to what others say for that person's gain.

There are two things we should remember for us not to be part of repeating pattern of this world.

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Have Vision

When you have vision, you start to think. Vision ignites a person to do things to accomplish the vision. No matter how hard it is, he/she will strive towards it and wait on it. For vision speaks of the final output, the final outcome of things.

Then the Lord replied:

“Write down the revelation

and make it plain on tablets

so that a herald may run with it.

For the revelation awaits an appointed time;

it speaks of the end

and will not prove false.

Though it linger, wait for it;

it will certainly come

and will not delay. [Habakkuk 2:2-3]

Vision must be also written in plain and must be seen by many so that those who have same vision may accomplish it together, creating a community with one vision towards it.

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Have Plan

Plan is the next step after having vision. Igniting us to think from vision will enable us to critically develop steps and ways to reach and accomplish the vision.

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’" [Luke 14:28-30]

Planning, tackles the questions, “what?”, “when?”, “which?”, “how?”, and “how much?”,” am I done?”. Planning also gives us the indication to what heights of the vision we can reach and what part of the vision were we pass it to others.

In their hearts humans plan their course,

but the Lord establishes their steps. [Proverbs 16:9]

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Conclusion

Our world system is a vicious cycle that entraps within and controls us. Do not be controlled. Do not repeat things that is from before.

Have vision, then plan. With these, we can change our life. Change your mind by having vision and plan. Then change your life by doing it. Do not repeat the same things and mistakes again. Do not conform to the repeating pattern of this world.

Be changed. Be transformed.