The 5 Ingredients for a Life You Love

Life brings us all to crossroads. 

Dawn Damon

At some point in our lives, we will face a transition—the closing of one chapter and the unfolding of the next. If you’ve ever been there, you know it’s a time of reflection. A time to take an inventory of life lived—what you’ve done, where you’ve been, what you’ve accomplished, and most importantly, where in the world are you going from here?

Most of us—men and women— find transitions an exciting time, but most will tell you that life changes brought some fear, moments of sadness, confusion, and a few perplexing questions. But what if I told you that change could usher you into your life’s most significant season? What if you could reimagine your life in such a powerful way that you could declare without hesitation, “I love my life.” 

I’d like you to raise your brave faith and believe it’s true. You can create an amazing life, living full out, and be intentional about every aspect of your fulfillment, personal growth, and development. You can build a life you love.

“Life is now in session. Are you present?” 

– John Maxwell

As I’ve studied mentors and the trailblazers before me, navigating life’s twists and turns, I’ve uncovered what I believe are the essential keys to building a life you love while flourishing body, soul, and spirit and bearing fruit in every season. 

“Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do” (Psalm 1:1-3 NLT).

There are keys to bearing fruit in every season so that your leaves never wither, and you’re guaranteed to prosper in all you do.

I call those keys the 5 Fortitudes. Let me introduce them to you.

First, what is Fortitude?

The word fortitude means “strength of mind and character.” But here’s where I take creative license and meld together some word nuances to create my definition. Fortitude is formed from bravery, virtue, and consistent grit to execute with relentless discipline, the keystone habits of a successful person.

Wow. That was a lot, right? Well, fortitude is that great.

Let me break down the definition. 

If you take:

• Virtue – High moral excellence and standards.
• Consistent Grit – Courage and resolve to keep going—the enduring strength of character.
• Keystone Habits – Habits that produce a chain of other great habits. A keystone habit is the first domino to fall, triggering a series of other positive habits.
• Relentless Discipline – Making yourself do what you need to do when you need to do it.

Blend those words together, and you will find fortitude—bravery, virtue, grit, and discipline.

Next, to construct a life you love, you must apply that fortitude in five key areas of your life. When you do, you’ll become unstoppable!

 

Fortitude 1. Claim a Bold Vision. I see.

In every season of life, you must receive a fresh vision or picture of what you want and how you believe God wants to use your life. Use your imagination to dream. 

• What do you see for your future? 
• Where do you want to go? 
• What do you want to accomplish, become, or experience? 

You must see a clear, vibrant vision in full color to build a life you love. If you see nothing, you can expect nothing.  “Where there is no vision, people perish…” (Proverbs 29:18 NIV). 

But when you see a clear vision of your purpose with the eyes of faith, that picture guides you, acting like a magnet to bring you to all you dream of. You’re on your way to destiny when you spend time with the Lord to awaken your distinctive vision and claim your purpose.  

Fortitude 2. Cultivate a Real Identity. I believe.

Many women suffer with confidence. No wonder. Our culture celebrates young, beautiful, and perfect-sized women. If we fail to check all those boxes, we may feel inadequate compared to others. But we have every reason to believe in ourselves and remain confident. This world’s deficient standards cannot possibly measure our worth. Instead, daily remind yourself of who God says you truly are.  

Perfectly designed in His image, you radiate a beauty that is uniquely yours.

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:20 NLT).

God made you. You are a one-of-a-kind masterpiece crafted with intention and love. Perfectly designed in His image, you radiate a beauty that is uniquely yours. 

• Embrace your identity as His daughter—lift your head, open your heart, and walk boldly in the light of who you are. 
• Stand confident in your identity because that confidence is powerful. 
• What you believe about yourself—your value and abilities—will create the outcomes you receive. 

What you believe about yourself creates results.

Outcomes. If you believe in God’s best about yourself, you will no doubt see the beautiful proof around you.

So, whether you’re a woman or a man, to build a life you love, bravely step out of insecurity, fear, indecision, and low self-worth and cultivate an identity that empowers you, makes you brave, and gives you the results for a life you deeply desire.

Fortitude 3. Choose an Able Mindset. I think.

Your mindset matters! 

You can’t live a life you love with beliefs that bring you down. And because we live mostly unaware of our thoughts and habitual actions, it’s easy for the unconscious mind to drive us into defeat and negativity. 

When you change what you think, you’ll change what you see in your life.

In fact, our automatic, unconscious mind commands 80% of the direction of our life. Wow. That’s significant. The good news is that as we awaken ourselves to identify the mental and emotional programming of past trauma, rejections, and the deceitful messages of the world lodged in our thoughts, we can remove toxic thinking, false beliefs, limiting labels, and negative outlooks to renew our mindset. When you change what you think, you’ll change what you see in your life. 

“Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then, you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect” (Romans 12:2 NLT).

With an able mindset that says, “I can do all things through Christ,” you’ll build a strong spirit of endurance that meditates on truth and won’t quit in the face of adversity. 

Fortitude 4. Craft Virtuous Talk. I speak.

Our words create our worlds. 

There is so much more to our spoken words than we have understood. Neuroscience now confirms what God has declared all along—the power of life and death are in the tongue. (See Proverbs 18:21.) 

Your words can bring you health or make you sick!

Studies have shown that negative words trigger the release of stress and anxiety-inducing hormones. Interestingly, the brain regions responsible for processing language connect closely to those that regulate your vital organ systems, hormones, and immune response. Your words can bring you health or make you sick!

In life’s changes or dry seasons, we tend to complain and speak doubt and defeat, forgetting that our words may very well create even more things we don’t want. God calls us to speak life and affirmations to bless and produce the good we desire versus the negative words that curse us and steal our success. 

Fortitude 5. Commit to Excellent Actions. I Do.

As I write this article, it is early January, a time when hundreds of thousands of people are setting goals and plans and making wonderful, huge promises to themselves with unrealistic resolutions. January is also the month of “National Quitters Day,” where those same people abandon their resolutions and slip back into status quo. 

The problem? 

There is no strategic plan to achieve those desires you said you truly wanted. I can promise you if you don’t have a strategic plan to take specific and planned action, you will stay stuck or, worse, regress. 

To live a life you deeply desire and love, you must use effective goal-setting and goal-getting—habits and actions that propel you forward.  As you take small but consistent steps toward your specific goals, you will eventually achieve your dreams!

“Commit your actions to the LORD, and your plans will succeed,” (Proverbs 16:3).

These five—what I see, believe, think, speak, and do—are the brave, virtuous, and gritty fortitudes of success.  

Are you in? Let’s get brave!

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Dawn Damon is the founder and CEO of “The BraveHearted Woman,” and BraveHearted YOUniveristy, a growth and development coaching enterprise designed for women, to awaken their God-given vision and equip them to live an extraordinary life. Through Dawn’s transformational coaching and courses, women leaders, visionaries, and entrepreneurs are empowered to build a life they love!

 Dawn is an Ordained Minister, Conference Speaker, Podcaster, and Author of 6 award-winning books including “When a Woman You Love Was Abused, published by Kregel Publications and “The Freedom Challenge: 60 Days to Untie the Cords that Bind You, Redemption Press,” and her most recent, Selah Award finalist…“The Making of a BraveHearted Woman: Courage, Confidence, and Vision in Midlife.”  

Dawn and her husband Paul Damon reside in Rockford, MI area and have a full family of 5 children, 13 grandchildren, and 2 Great-Grands. www.linktr.ee/dawndamonlive