True success demands engaging the mind, heart, and will into your work. So many attempt to shortcut this process, but to no avail. Here is a section from my new book RESOLVED: 13 Resolutions For LIFE, explaining the importance of full engagement of the mind, heart, and will. Sincerely, Orrin Woodward
Mind, Heart, and Will
If success was as simple as writing out a few resolutions and studying them daily, wouldn’t more people apply this method to become successful? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains why few achieve lasting success, “Man is a wonderful creature, he is mind, he is heart, and he is will. Those are the three main constituents of man. God has given him a mind, He has given him a heart, He has given him a will whereby he can act.” Transforming a life then, requires the whole person to be involved – his mind, his heart, and his will must be engaged in the process. True change isn’t just a mental (mind) assent, it isn’t just an emotional (heart) experience, and it’s more than just regimented (will) learning. For some will read the resolutions, make a mental nod of approval but won’t involve the heart or will. Even though they claim a knowledge of how to succeed in life, they never seem to achieve anything. To know and not to do is really not to know, since if one knew how satisfying authentic success would be, one wouldn’t delay in striving towards it. Resolutions must engage the mind, but must go beyond it, tapping into the heart and will to produce lasting real change.
Without uniting the mind, heart and will together, people will not achieve their desired results. For example, many who attend seminars have their hearts touched by the message, but don’t seem to comprehend mentally (mind) or follow-through physically (will) on the plan for success. These people jump from one achievement fad to another, gaining emotional (heart) releases, but accomplish little of real substance. Life has been hard on them, so they attend another fad seminar, seeking, not real change, but a cathartic release of tension. Another group of people study the resolutions, attempting to transform themselves through sheer willpower, but unless the mind and heart are engaged, it cannot last. This group attempts to take up the resolutions, rather than being taken up by them. The will, by itself, can go through the motions, but without the heart and mind, the passion and understanding involved, the process lacks zeal. It’s like the old saying, “A man or woman convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.” A methodical, passionless, robotic-like study of the resolutions will not get the job done.
It’s only with a mind that understands, a heart that generates passion, and a disciplined will to follow through, that change is generated inside a person. Sadly, most success seeker’s journey will end in disappointment having made the common mistake of compartmentalizing the parts of a person rather than allowing them to work together. The good news, however, is that anyone can develop the ability to work on the mind, heart, and will simultaneously. The process is simple, but certainly not easy, requiring immense discipline to marry the three constituent parts together in the pursuit of excellence in any area that a person has resolved to change. By thinking seriously about where to focus, writing out clear resolutions, resolving to read, and apply them on a consistent basis, anybody can, like Washington, Franklin, and Edwards, resolve to change. Moreover, when a person changes himself, he begins a process that ultimately transforms the world around him.