About 10 years ago, I read an article about the top television shows that year. Six out of the top ten shows were reality shows. It is the genre that was captivating viewing audiences around the world. Shows like American Idol, The Apprentice, The Amazing Race, and Fear Factor. Today, there are countless new ones. Not one of these shows was more dominant though than Extreme Makeover. It wasn’t the most important because it was the highest rated TV show, but because it spawned so many derivatives of the one single concept. There was “Extreme Makeover,” “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition,” “Trading Spaces,” “The Swan,” and the list goes on.
What does all this tell me? People are fixated on transforming themselves.
One show in particular became a fascination to me though I have to admit, I never actually watched a full episode. It was called “The Swan.” I was flipping through the stations one day when I came upon a commercial for it
A panel of experts were viewing a most unflattering picture of a woman in shorts and a crop top. A host would ask, “What needs to be done for this woman?” Various experts took a black marker and began to circle areas of need. In this part of the commercial, they circled her forehead, cheeks, nose, and lips. As they moved to her body, they talked about augmentation and then liposuction…liposuction…liposuction…liposuction.
The idea of the show was to take what some people would call a homely woman and give her a complete makeover free of charge. The winner each would get a chance to come compete in a beauty pageant at the end of the year.
Shortly after seeing the commercial, I read an article in “USA TODAY” that had a before and after picture of a woman from “The Swan.” One woman endured 23 separate surgeries and had been confined to a wheelchair for 6 days. I was fascinated by what they were trying to accomplish. Later that season, I did catch the last 15 minutes of the finale – the beauty pageant. As they were calling the woman up for their final interview question, they would post the “before” picture of each contestant. I must say that the transformation was astonishing. In most cases, you couldn’t even tell if it was the same woman or not.
It was amazing to watch the extremes these women went to in order to find transformation. They pursued outward beauty to feel better about themselves inwardly. I believe most us can agree that we want to be happy with our outward appearance and do the best we can with it. I neither condemn nor endorse the process; it is a choice. My point is simple, God’s extreme makeover comes from the inside out.
What you manifest on the outside is a result of what you receive on the inside (in your heart). I thought to myself, what extreme measures people will go through to change the outside when real transformation comes from the inside. As I’ve talked about many times, you manifest what you believe in your heart (Prov. 4:23, 23:7, Ps. 1:2, 3). The way to break free in Jesus’ promises of abundant life is by transforming your personal belief system, which is located in your subconscious mind (SCM). Your soul (which must be renewed) is made up of mind, will, emotion, and imagination. Your mind has a conscious mind (CM) and a SCM. The job of the CM is to determine truth. The job of the SCM is to make that truth come to pass. Your personal belief system resides in your SCM (See blog on 5 Stages to Create New Heart Beliefs). The SCM is where your belief system resides. You can either create beliefs by default or on purpose. The SCM makes around 95% of the decisions. Look at these amazing stats:
CM VS SCM
| CM | SCM | |
| Brain mass | 17% | 83% |
| Speed of impulse | 120-140 MPH | 100,000 MPH |
| Bits per second | 2000 | 400 billion |
| Control of perception and behavior | 2-5% | 95-98% |
| Time | Past & Future | Present |
| Memory horizon | Up to 20 seconds | Forever |
(Stats from “The Answer” by John Assaraf, p. 48)
Our lives are dominated by our SCM or beliefs in our heart. Internally, the SCM is affected by dominant thoughts + emotions + imagination + repetition. Externally, you are influenced by your suggestive environment and your CM (what you say, do, hear, see, read, watch, listen to, and especially people). You’ll believe whatever you see the most evidence of in your life. It is estimated that the SCM operates at a rate 30,000 times faster than the CM. While the CM determines what you determine as truth, it is stored in the SCM, which makes that truth come to pass. If “your truth” is good, the result is great. However, if your source of truth is your environment, it could create limitations on your life. If your beliefs are created by default, you likely have unwittingly created self-limiting beliefs. Remember, dominant thoughts plus emotions plus imaginations plus repetition create desired beliefs.
For most of us, it’s time to change the definition of you, and in doing so, step into our destinies! Stay tuned to learn how to write on the tablets of your heart.
