Do you enjoy those before and after pictures and stories? They take a run-down house and voila! It looks amazing, after just a few weeks. Or, they take a person who’s overweight and poorly dressed and, miracle of miracles, here they are svelte and in a stunning outfit.

I suspect the reason they don’t show you the in-between photos is that they’re likely to look even worse than the “befores.”

A particularly strong windstorm almost totally blew our sunroom away a year ago. Just now, after insurance adjustors and many contract bids, the workmen arrived to begin the repairs—and proceeded to tear down everything!

Oh, my gosh! We thought it looked bad before!

Worse, they also uncovered a host of problems we weren’t aware of, including some rotten joists, insufficient concrete footings and some outdoor plumbing that wasn’t up to code.

So much additional work! So many questions came up! Will we be able to afford the additional repairs? Will we be able to have the work done the way we want with the additional code requirements? Will the weather permit the re-roofing required?

Similarly, all of us may have to suffer through mental obstacles when we embark on changing our mind. You know, “Change your thinking to change your life?” It sounds easy until you start the process of changing.

You’ll run across beliefs that seem in direct contradiction to what you’d rather believe. You’ll discover limits to “stretching” your ideas of love or wealth. You’ll catch yourself (again) having those thoughts of negativity or self-doubt. In short, for a time things can look pretty daunting.

But remember your plan. Remember what your life can be like. Remember how you will be when you are more loving or more healthy or more abundant. Know that you’re worth it—worth the “during” sensations of doubt or additional effort. Persistence is all that is required. Your life can be wildly successful if you persist in your mental self-improvement.

Such a beautiful “after” picture to look forward to!