Changing Our Course
A Practical Guide to Redirecting Your Life Toward the One God Designed for You
There are times in our lives when we get the strong feeling that there is simply no remedy for our current situation. We feel there is nothing we can do to improve it — and we may as well throw in the towel and admit defeat. To continue on seems futile. In this place, we would rather curl up in some remote corner and wait for something to change on its own.
But here is the honest truth: we are where we are because of the choices we have been making, consistently or inconsistently, all our lives. Sometimes we chose to act. Many times we chose not to. Sometimes we gave a little extra effort, but lacked consistency. We never built enough momentum. And now we are exactly where we are — and we can only point to ourselves.
"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin." — James 4:17
How often have we passed on the little extra things that landed on our plate? How many times did we fail to make that call, send that message, or take that step that might have changed everything? How many times did we simply not act?
The good news — the genuinely transformative news — is that since our choices brought us here, our choices can take us somewhere entirely new. Right now. Today.
"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." — Isaiah 43:19
Step One: Take Inventory of What You Already Have
The first step in changing course is to take a full, honest inventory of everything we have to be grateful for. Not what we lack — what we have. This is not a trivial exercise. Gratitude is the foundation of everything that follows.
Take out three sheets of paper and fill them out:
Sheet 1 — Blessings & Provisions (the things you have, from basic to bonus):
- Food, shelter, clothing, water, health, clean air, heat, electricity, plumbing, a car, a phone, a microwave, a coffee maker — the list goes on further than we usually allow ourselves to notice.
Sheet 2 — People Who Matter (the relationships that sustain you):
- Spouse, children, parents, siblings, grandparents, mentors, teachers, friends, counselors, coworkers, pets — every person God has placed in your life as a gift.
Sheet 3 — Gifts, Skills & Abilities (what you can do):
- Painting, carpentry, writing, singing, speaking, drawing, counseling, directing, technical skills, athletic abilities — what has God wired into you that you may have been taking for granted?
"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." — James 1:17
The Catechism reminds us that gratitude is not optional — it is a form of worship:
"Blessing expresses the basic movement of Christian prayer: it is an encounter between God and man. In blessing, God’s gift and man’s acceptance of it are united in dialogue with each other." — CCC 2626
Even writing down just a few items from each list will elevate your spirit. That is not coincidence — that is the law of gratitude at work. Concentrate on what you have, not on what you don’t. This is the greatest way to begin moving forward.
Step Two: Decide Where You Want to Go
Once gratitude has raised your interior state, the energy can begin to flow in a new direction. Now the crucial question: Where do we want to be?
It often takes knowing what we don’t want to discover what we do — but we must be careful. Contrast is useful, but if we dwell in the unwanted experience, it begins to grow. As we assign strong emotion to the things we don’t want, we draw them toward us just as powerfully as the things we do want.
Take the time to write down, specifically and in detail, everything you want your life to look like. But this exercise is about far more than seeing — it is about feeling. We must feel all the emotions associated with living that life right now. Not someday. Now.
"Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will act." — Psalm 37:4–5
Mastering the direction of our emotions is the key to pivoting our course. We commune with our higher self — our soul and spirit, created in the image of God — by impressing the subconscious with the reality that we already have all that we desire. Through sincere prayer, affirmation, and visualization, we cause a shift in the current of energy and begin to change the course of the river.
"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." — Romans 12:2
"The interior life of man is thus renewed from within so that what eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him... God has revealed to us through the Spirit." — CCC 1964 (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:9–10)
Can you see the shift? It is from within us that changes outside of us occur. We become a magnetic force for transformation, attracting like energy. Whether we concentrate on the good or the bad, energy attracts more of the same. The river is now working for us instead of against us.
The Whirlpool Principle
I remember buying a small round swimming pool for my kids when they were little. We loved that pool. One day we started walking in a circle, following each other around the outer walls. The more we moved in the same direction, the stronger the current became. As we sped up, the current sped up — until eventually it was pulling us around the pool on its own. Once the whirlpool became strong enough, we just laid back and enjoyed the ride. Swimming against it was futile — we had already set our course in motion.
If we had stood still, or if everyone had gone in different directions, we never would have experienced that momentum. We would have waded water endlessly, expending energy without producing any result. A house divided cannot stand — and a pool divided will not flow.
"Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand." — Matthew 12:25
We must concentrate our energies on a single purpose — God’s purpose for our lives — and set the river’s current in that direction. As momentum builds, the facilitation of our prayers and intentions will produce our manifestation.
Gratitude Is Key
Being genuinely grateful for all that we have right now is the most effective way to elevate our interior state and build momentum. This is not positive thinking as a technique — this is a spiritual discipline. Do this when you rise in the morning and just before you sleep at night, every day. Consistency is not optional; it is the engine of transformation.
"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." — 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
Exercises for Changing Course
Affirmations
Root your affirmations in the divine Name — I AM — which echoes the very Name of God revealed to Moses:
"God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM.’" — Exodus 3:14
Fill in the truth of who you are created to be:
- I AM, I AM, I AM ___________________________
- I AM, I AM, I AM ___________________________
- I AM, I AM, I AM ___________________________ and all that it means to be.
Repeat once in the morning and once at night for five minutes — with feeling, with faith, and with gratitude.
Visualization
Create a vivid, emotionally alive picture of the life you are called to live. Make a movie in your mind of exactly what that life looks like. Feel all the joy, peace, purpose, and love associated with it — right now, as if it is already real. This is not fantasy. This is faith in action. It is the same mechanism as memory, only directed forward.
"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." — Hebrews 11:1
Repeat this process twice a day for five to ten minutes. Consistency builds the current. The current builds the whirlpool. And the whirlpool — when set in the right direction — carries you all the way home.