Metanoeo
There’s a powerful word that comes to mind as we’re all entering into a new way of life and existence as we know it. It truly is not the same out there, and if we try to go at our regular lives the same old way, we’re bound to fail. This new climate and territory is very different than what we’ve known before, and it’s going to require that we put on a whole new set of skills to advance forward. So with that, I wanted to share a word I’m thinking of — metanoeo.
You’re probably thinking to yourself that makes no sense, and it’s “all greek” to you. Well, you’re absolutely right! Metanoeo is in fact the Greek word for “repent”. Now, you may be wondering what that has to do with anything, but it’s actually very appropriate.
First of all, let’s think about what it means to repent. You may be thinking “apologize”, saying “I’m sorry”, and you’re on the right track. But to repent means a whole lot more. Just saying you won’t do something again doesn’t actually mean you will. To repent comes with different action. And that’s what I’m getting at today.
Look at it this way, if a soldier is marching in one direction, stops, spins on his heals and starts marching in an entirely different direction, that’s what it looks like to repent. It’s turning 180 degrees from the direction you were going before. Now, we can try to do things differently, but our mindsets prevent us from ever being successful. And that’s where the word metanoeo becomes so powerful. The word metanoeo literally means “to see things differently”.
Think of it. If you’re marching through life with your eyes focused in one direction, and then you purpose to turn yourself around but your head is still cocked backward toward the way you were looking before, you’re not going to get very far. Sooner or later your march is going to turn back to whatever direction you were pointed at in the first place. If we want to do things differently, we have to see things differently first … and then our actions will follow. And what you see depends entirely on what you believe.
What do you believe about yourself? What do you believe about your circumstances, the world around you, possibilities for a successful future? Is any part of you believing that maybe you’re “just not good enough,” or maybe “everyone’s out to get me”? I know it’s hard to confront these realities, but if we’re honest with ourselves and consider that we’re believing — or seeing — that way, our path will be dictated by that perspective. So that’s where repentance comes into play. What if you chose to see things differently? What if you chose to believe that, “I do have skills, and maybe with the right help we could actually make something”? Or consider the thought that, “People aren’t against me. I may have encountered some difficult bumps, but there are people out there who truly are supportive and want to help me, too.” It starts to feel different, and encourages you to do things a little differently, doesn’t it? It gives you hope.
Now lets take that to our world in general. Just because the media says it’s true, is it? Is it possible that there could be a different outcome in your own life even if things do look a little hairy out there? There’s a beautiful quote that I’ve always held to. I got it from an Adidas commercial years ago. In it, it showed an athlete who had everything going against them. They had some honest challenges they had to face. But even when everything was telling them they couldn’t, they chose to persevere through. In the end, the commercial shows that same athlete in a place of victory and the powerful words I’ll never forget flash before the screen — “Impossible isn’t a fact. It’s an opinion.”
Whoa. All the naysayers out there who say it’s impossible … guess what, that’s their OPINION. It’s not a fact. And guess what, you get to have an opinion, too. And yours doesn’t have to agree with theirs. In fact, don’t let it! BELIEVE that it can happen and you’ll be amazed what falls in place.
I know it’s tough out there. I know it’s scary, but this is a time for many of us to thrive. Imagine, we’re going to get to experience something new! Something we never would have encountered otherwise! This is where even the tough things in life can turn in our favor. It happens when we choose to do things differently. It happens when we change what we believe.
Choose to see things differently!