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October 8, 2024 18 mins

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In this episode of 'Renew and Transform,' host Moussa Mikhail explores the motivation and purpose behind the podcast, focusing on the concept of renewing the mind as a pathway to personal transformation. Inspired by the scripture Romans 12:2, Moussa discusses how our thoughts create neural pathways which shape our actions and habits, drawing parallels with cognitive theory and biblical wisdom.

Listeners are encouraged to identify patterns that limit spiritual and personal growth and to consciously forge new thought trails that align with their divine calling. Practical steps include reflection, identifying limiting habits, and starting small changes, all while seeking guidance from scripture, prayer, and supportive communities.

00:00 Introduction to Renew and Transform

00:41 The Power of Romans 12:2

02:23 Understanding Cognitive Theory

03:59 The Story of the Conditioned Dog

06:13 Creating New Neural Pathways

10:36 Practical Steps for Mind Renewal

17:45 Conclusion and Call to Action

Join me on the journey to Renew and Transform your mind and Cultivate your leadership by subscribing, leaving a review and following me on social media!



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Transcript

Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
In this episode, I want to talkabout the motivation and intention

(00:03):
of this podcast, Renew and Transform.
What it means to renew the mind andhow transformation begins with the
mind, and two things we can startdoing now to begin renewing the mind.
I Welcome to Renew and Transform, apodcast to renew and transform your

(00:24):
mind and cultivate your leadership tolive a life worthy of your calling.
I'm your host, Mindset andLeadership Coach Moussa Mikhail.
Let the renewal begin.
Welcome to Renew and Transform.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
Want to bring you back to the scripturethat inspired me to launch this

(00:47):
new podcast, and the scripture thatinspired the name, Renew and Transform.
You might have heard itbefore, if you haven't.

It is Romans 12 (00:55):
2.
Do not conform to the patternsof this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind.
Then you'll be able to test and approve.
What God's will is his good,pleasing and perfect will.

(01:15):
Now, it's such a powerful scripture,and it is the essence of change.
It is the essence of transformationand changing your habits and creating
a new identity within yourself.
Do not conform to the patternsof this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind.

(01:36):
It means we can beginto transform our life.
By renewing our mind, we can transformwhat it is we've become accustomed to.
We can transform what we haveconditioned ourselves to do, feel,
and act for our entire lifetime.

(01:59):
We could change the conditioning of what'sbeen surrounding us for all these years.
For the media, for what we've beenlistening to, for our upbringing.
We may not have the ability to controlmost of those things, But the one thing we
can control is our mind, and we're goingto talk about two things we can start
doing now to begin that renewal process.

(02:23):
Our life goes in the directionof our most dominant thoughts.
Good or bad.
Ineffective.
or effective.
Actions are going to followour most dominant thoughts.
And this is how therenewal process begins.

(02:44):
This is how our habits form.
By constant thought, whatwe think about the most.
Do you ever inventory andtake a real good look at what
you're thinking about the most?
And how much time you spend thinkingabout what you're thinking about?
What we think about themost generally determines.

(03:07):
Our feelings and attitudes.
Our attitude and feelings leadto our behavior and actions.
Our actions and behaviorsover time become our habits.
And our habits determine our character.
This is what psychologistscall cognitive theory.

(03:29):
The relationship between ourthoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
Neuroscientists suggest that 90to 95% Of what we do in our day to
day life are subconscious habits.
Meaning most of our life is subconsciouslyacted out through our habits.

(03:53):
Most of which we're not even aware of.
Most of which we don't even notice.
A friend was telling me abouta story about his neighbor's
dog who is severely injured.
Now they have a large yardwhere the dog usually roams.
But they initially set up an electricfence on this yard so the dog doesn't run

(04:17):
too far or get lost or leave the property.
So they built this electricfence and it would shock the
dog every time it got near it.
So over time, the dog was conditioned.
It recognized that it's not allowedto go past A certain boundary that has

(04:37):
to stay within this boundary, uh, evenafter they removed the fence, the dog
was so conditioned to these boundariesthat it would not go past them.
It was so conditioned by these boundariesthat it would stay on the yard long
after the electric fence was gone.

(04:58):
And one day, this is in a wooded area.
A deer roamed on the property.
Not very uncommon for this areato have deer roaming around large
land areas and large properties.
But this large deerattacked this dog abruptly.
This dog had the chance to run away.

(05:20):
It's probably faster than this deer.
It would have gotten away.
However, it was subconsciouslyconditioned to stay within a certain
parameter, although it could run pastthe property and escape this deer.
In its mind, it was trapped.

(05:41):
It got to the boundary and then stopped.
This deer then trampled over thispoor dog and injured it severely.
The dog could have gotten away.
But the crazy thing is, we, humans, can't.
Do the same thing this dog has done.
We have conditioned ourselves withsubconscious habits that are limiting

(06:02):
us and making us more susceptibleto an attack from an enemy.
We are stuck within theboundaries of our mind.
We've played the same feedback loopover and over and over and created this
pathway in our brain In which our habitsare produced, science is catching up

(06:25):
to biblical wisdom, and here is one ofthe best ways to start changing this.
After you think about a thought,you start to formulate a
electrical pathway in the brain.
They call it neural pathways,but it's literally electricity.

(06:46):
It's kind of like walkingin a trail in the woods.
If you've never walked on a certaintrail and you start creating a new trail.
It's not going to be very visible, butif you've walked that trail thousands
and thousands and thousands of timesover many years, the trail is going

(07:07):
to be forged through the woods.
It's going to be very easily visible.
It's going to be where you take whenyou want to go to your destination.
You're going to take that trail.
There's no reason to climb over.
And create a new trail becauseyou have solidified this trail.
It's the easiest path to the action.

(07:30):
And this begins to happensubconsciously in the brain.
You are forming trails that happen overrepetition and repetition and repetition.
And those become the habits.
We have to consciously decideto formulate a new trail.
To go off that trail because thattrail is leading us to limitation.

(07:52):
It is leading us, maybe,in a feedback loop.
It is maybe leading us to dothings that we regret later.
It's maybe leading us to limit ourselvesand our potential and what God has for us.
It may be hurting us.
It may be hurting other people.
We have to consciously decide, I'mnot going down that way anymore.

(08:12):
And we start forging a new trail.
We might have to movesome shrub out the way.
We might have to cut some trees.
We might have to make a way.
We might have to dig a trench.
We might have to put in that effortinitially to forge that trail.
But once we cut the shrubs andclean out the debris and clear

(08:33):
out that trail, the more we do themore we walk through that trail.
We then create a new trail.
This old trail beginsto have its growth back.
If no one ever stepped on that trailagain, it will give nature time

(08:53):
to regrow and cover up that trail.
The growth of the trees and the plantsand the debris and the branches and
the leaves and everything that fallsin nature would eventually cover that
trail after many years of not using it.
You've created a new trail.
And this trail is a disciplined trail.

(09:15):
One that leads you to more freedom.
One that leads you to be in better shape.
To write that book.
To start that business.
To start that non profit.
To start that charity.
To do what God placed on your heart, tomaybe leave the job that you hate and
start pursuing what will fulfill you.
The more you navigate on that trail,the more you exert that energy in the

(09:39):
beginning to clear out that trail,the easier it will be over time.
This is what happens in the mind.
Those neural pathways, those habits,Are creating trails in our brain
that lead from one part of the brainto another that leads to us doing
a certain action over and over andover it becomes easier and easier

(10:01):
and there's less resistance to do it.
There will always be moreresistance in the beginning.
Starting that trail, getting offtrail, off the beaten path and
creating a new trail will take time.
It will need you to walk that trailover and over and over again for days

(10:22):
and months and years until it's asolidified trail out obstructions.
And that's the process.
So science is catchingup to biblical wisdom.
And here are the two things wecan start doing now to begin
the renewal process of the mind.

(10:43):
I want to start off with.
The Apostle Paul's scripturein Philippians 4: 8.
Finally, brothers and sisters,whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure,whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable, if anything is excellent orpraiseworthy, think about such things.

(11:09):
He knows.
Our life goes in the direction of our mostdominant thoughts, so fix your thoughts on
that which is worth it, that which is trueand noble and excellent and praiseworthy.
In Proverbs it says, As youthink in your heart, so you are.
Fix your mind on that which isgoing to get you closer to the man

(11:33):
or woman God created you to be.
The first thing you can do to beginthe process of renewing your mind.
is to identify the patterns that areseparating you from God and limiting you.
Think about it.
You might need to take time away fromthe noise, away from electronics,

(11:55):
away from social media, away frommedia in general, away from people,
somewhere quiet where you can reallyreflect And identify the patterns.
Do not conform to the patternsof this world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind.

(12:15):
What patterns have you conformed to?
What patterns have youconditioned yourself in?
What patterns have you developed overtime based on your environment, your
parents, your friends, the peopleyou've watched over years, the TV.

(12:36):
Media, movies, whateverit is, identify them.
You may not be able tocontrol those things.
There's a lot in your life thatcontributed to your patterns
that are out of your controlnow, but you can renew the mind.
And when you renew the mind, you cantransform and you don't have to get the

(12:59):
same results and live the same life basedon the patterns you developed years ago.
And many of these subconscioushabits and patterns We're
ones you developed as a child.
You don't have to be a victimto these patterns anymore.
Identify them.

(13:20):
Take the time.
Take a look at yourselfdeeply and check your heart.
You may not be able to do it alone.
You may need to ask friends, a counselor,a coach, a therapist, a community group, a
mentor, a pastor, whoever that you trust.

(13:42):
You may need to ask them.
And it's okay.
We were not.
Designed to do it alone anyway.
You can't read the labelif you're stuck in the box.
That's why we need other people to giveus feedback, and there's no shame in that.
Everybody needs it.

(14:03):
This is why the greatest athletes areusually a result of the greatest coaches.
Because they're able to see thingsfrom a different perspective
that the athlete can't see.
So it's okay to get help to identifythese patterns, because you can't see
yourself clearly most of the time.
You can deeply journal about them.

(14:24):
Journal without distraction again.
Alone.
Somewhere peaceful.
Somewhere quiet.
Where you can really start toaccess your thoughts and your heart.
You may need to pray about it, and Iencourage you to pray about it, to have
God reveal the things and the patternsand the habits that are contributing

(14:44):
to the things that you are unhappywith right now, that are contributing
to this limited version of you.
That is not God's best.
Pray for God to reveal that to youand for the strength of your heart.
Number two is to choose one habit,just one habit to begin working on,

(15:09):
to renew the mind of the one habitthat is limiting you from being
the person God created you to be.
Just the habit that you canbegin working on when you notice
your thoughts are changing.
Going in a certain direction.
When you start noticing that trail,what leads me to get on to that trail?

(15:32):
That trail which leads me todo things that I regret later.
Identify those things andchoose the one habit that is
harming you to begin working on.
And here are some examples.
Obviously, this is notan all inclusive list.
These are just someexamples that may help you.
They may not.
They may make sense.
They may not.

(15:52):
But that's why you have to takethe time to identify what is
getting in the way from you beingthe person God created you to be.
A habit like interrupting yourthoughts of temptation with prayer.
That may lead you tonot get on that trail.
You're interrupting that pattern.

(16:13):
Or reading a book or the bibleinstead of an episode of a TV show.
Taking a prayer walk around the communitywhich stimulates your physical body
and your heart in a spiritual practice.
Listening to music intentionally.
Music that encourages you.
That maybe motivates you or inspires you.
That leaves you feeling better thanyou did before listening to it.

(16:36):
Scheduling periodic check inswith friends or family or people
that are keeping you accountable.
Maybe on a weekly or bi weekly basis.
Having conversations thatare intentionally designed to
go deeper and have a deeperconnection and more vulnerability.
Which exercises emotionalmuscles in your heart to start

(17:00):
developing stronger relationshipsand to help you be accountable.
Getting some exercise, something thatwe probably all need to do more of.
One of the best things we coulddo for our mind is exercise our
body, which benefits our physicalbody and the mind at the same time.
Something like intermittentfasting could help.

(17:21):
It's a discipline that bleedsinto every other discipline.
If you're able to have thediscipline to not put things in
your mouth and eat, you can have thediscipline to do almost anything.
Choose one habit tostart working on today.
Share that habit with me in the commentsor reach out to me on Instagram.

(17:41):
I would love to support you however I can.
And whatever you are struggling with rightnow, just keep your focus on things above
And not of this world, like Colossians3, 2 says, try giving it all to Jesus.
You have nothing to lose and all to gain.
God bless you.

(18:03):
Thank you for tuning in.
Be a light and share this with someone youlove and care about, and please subscribe
and leave a review so we can reach morepeople and remember, do not conform
to the pattern of this world, but betransformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to testand approve what God's will is.

(18:24):
His good, pleasing and perfect will.
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