Our thoughts are powerful forces for good or evil.
And no, I’m not overstating this truth.
Think about a time when you were juggling some important tasks or facing a major deadline, but still having a good day. And then, for some unknown reason, you found yourself discouraged. Frustrated. Overwhelmed by all you had to do.
You’re not sure how you went from happy to stressed out — you just know it happened.
If you took a moment to step away from the maddening crowd of your emotions and tuned into your thinking — what you’re mentally saying to yourself at that moment … how you’ve been talking to yourself for the past few hours — you’d realize why you were so stressed.
I’d wager the thoughts running rampant in your head were something like:
- I’ll never get all of this done.
- I’m so stupid for letting all of this work pile up.
- People will be so disappointed in me if I don’t come through.
- I’m going to blow this just like [insert a time you failed at something].
- Everyone’s going to find out I’m a fraud.
When the going gets tough, we need to exercise our ability to choose one thought over the other, going on the defensive mentally. Negative thinking tears us down, undermining our ability to focus on the challenge at hand. Sometimes I take the time to trace my way back to the first thought that tripped me up. Identifying it allows me recognize the trigger and mentally switch it to off. Then I “change the station” and only allow positive thoughts in.
In Your Words: How do you choose which thoughts you’re going to think?
In Others' Words: Choose Your Weapon http://bit.ly/2xFhMA7 #perspective #thoughts Click To Tweet 'The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.' Quote by William James http://bit.ly/2xFhMA7 #stress #choices Click To Tweet
Comments 6
Beth, this is SO good.
How do I handle it? Simple:
Don’t mean nuthin’.
As long as I’ve done my best, it doesn’t matter if I don’t finish, or lose, or if others think I’m a failure.
I can’t control outcomes of any kind; I can control my own efforts.
Author
Andrew: And this is one reason I’m thankful for our friendship. Your perspective strengthens mine.
This can be a hard one. It’s one thing to combat negative thoughts that come. In a heated moment, even loved ones may say something rash they hopefully don’t mean after reflection. I experienced one putting a quite negative thought in a hasty text yesterday and the next text shortly after didn’t refer to that statement but professed considerable love. My response to the first had been, “Some thoughts are better left unsaid.” I know what I read was a thoughtless outburst. It still hurt but I do recognize it for what it was and as an indication of that person’s own need. It does have some impact on my interactions with that person and given the right opportunity I hope I will say something about the impact they cannot afford to have on those around them. Meanwhile, I’m taking to heart any part of what they said that might be true, but also praying for them.
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Dee: Your reaction to the other person’s words shows your maturity, your desire to not be hasty in how you react. This is choosing wisely in your actions, your reactions, and yes, in your thoughts about yourself and someone else. Thank you for sharing.
To do this can be so hard! I first pray for help “taking every thought captive”. Then take a deep breath and ask myself what is happening here. Sometimes I just tell Satan to shut up . Other times I work to replace negatives with positives. Sometimes I just scream for help. I think realizing what’s going on is the most important step in getting off the negative thought spiral.
Author
Laurie: All the steps you mentioned are wise ones … and yes, taking our thoughts captive as instructed in 2 Corinthians 10:5 is so vital to our thought life. It’s been said our mind is a battleground — and it’s so true! Sometimes reciting Scripture — going to some of my Anchor Verses that I’ve been sharing on my Instagram and FB pages — helps me, too.