This keeps coming to my mind…how important our thoughts are. It’s a quiet whisper that I have been feeling for a couple of months. I feel it deep down in my spirit.
Our thoughts matter. A lot. More than most of us realize.
Have you ever noticed how quickly everything can change when we begin to entertain certain thoughts? We can be fine one moment, but should we have a negative thought and choose to entertain it, we can literally feel the shift. The same goes when we are in a bad place, but if a good thought comes to our mind, and we choose to entertain it, we began to feel hope, and hope changes everything, but it began with a thought, a thought we chose to entertain.
you would never think a negative thought.”
-Peace Pilgrim
The more I fill my mind with God’s word, positivity, and life-giving words, I am developing a different standard for my own thoughts, for any thoughts, but my thoughts are the only ones I can control. I am overwhelmed with the realization of how important every thought is. They matter. I know we all deal with the thoughts that pop into our heads. That happens to us all. But the great thing to remember is that while our thoughts control us, we control our thoughts. We have a tendency to think that we are “just the way we are”, and that we cannot be changed, that our thoughts are what they are and that they are not changeable. Just because we have a negative thought does not mean we have to entertain it. We can stop it. We can replace it with something good. Over time, this changes us in some really big ways. We cannot do it once or twice, and say that it didn’t work. We have to do it every day over a period of time.
I wanted something to remind myself of this, so to go with my “FIERCE” necklace, I designed the “BEAUTIFUL THOUGHTS CREATE A BEAUTIFUL LIFE” necklace. I wanted a beautiful way to remind myself to be careful with my thoughts. They matter.
If you are interested in learning more of the science behind this, I highly recommend Switch On Your Brain: The Key to Peak Happiness, Thinking, and Health. Dr. Caroline Leaf explains the science behind the scriptures and why our thoughts are so important. After the Bible, this might be the most life-changing book I have seen.
What do you do to help control your thoughts?
Ah yes…. our thought life dictates how we act and truly guides our feelings and creates our perspective. It’s hard to control them, at times when we are burdened with fear or anxiety or anger or pain.
Thank you for this perfect reminder for me… my thoughts have dipped into discouragement and I need to shift my thinking so that I can embrace the GOOD that IS in my life.
Beautiful, encouraging and always truthful words my friend.
There is your word again, Chris…perspective! And, yes, it can be hard to control them, especially during the times you mentioned. I know you have been going through so much. Those are trying times. We can begin to feel worn down. I got some test results back today, and I may need surgery. I’m trying to see it as a good thing, but I can still feel that twinge of anxiety. There is a quote where someone said something about feeding the one you want to grow. It’s hard sometimes. It can take everything you have inside of us to do it, but oh, it feels so much better when we do. I am learning our imaginations can be much worse than reality. So many verses are popping into my head….don’t believe a bad report….casting down imaginations….taking every thought captive. We have much better days ahead of us, friend. And still so much to celebrate right now. Thanks so much for being here, friend. xo
Great post. This book looks interesting. I am guilty of negative thoughts. Just this morning I was dwelling on something that happened 40 years ago.Really don’t know why, but it was making me feel bad.
Change your thoughts change your life!
I think most of us are at times, Kathy. I am continually working on this, but I have to say that I have gotten so much better, but it’s been a long process, and some days are better than others. Isn’t it great when we realize that we have the power to change those thoughts. It’s a choice We can choose to pull up a chair and sit for a while with bitterness, sadness, or disappointments, or we can walk away and go find somewhere else to sit. Oh, the book is sooooo good. I started it last year, but I stopped when I started the 30 day reading challenge, and then I got hurt, but I’m ready to start it again soon. It is REALLY deep. That is why I couldn’t do it with the 30 day challenge. It was too much to try and read it quickly. But, oh my word, it spoke to me in such big ways. I was going through a lot of old things in my head as I was reading it causing me to deal with things as I began to see things more clearly. It just blew me away. The things she wrote were so spot on with some deep things I was going through that I hadn’t even told anyone else. I might just be slow, but it was definitely a book that I had to read slowly. I felt it was partly because it was so deep, and I was dealing with so much while I was reading it, and it is also some pretty big stuff. She’s a scientist. Some places I had to read quite a few times to fully grasp what she was saying, but it is so worth it to take the time with it like that. I just love her for writing this.
I have been working so hard on controlling my negative thoughts. I can take one small piece of negativity and spin it into the worst case scenario. I have definitely found that taking 15 minutes in the morning for devotionals helps me set a positive path for the day. It’s a constant struggle though. Great post!
Oh, wow. I know what you mean, Lana I was just saying in another comment that my imagination is almost always worse than the reality. It’s crazy. It makes no good sense whatsoever for us to do this. That is wonderful the devotional time in the morning is helping you. I do mine at night. I actually tend to fall asleep listening to CDs. It is such a peaceful way to fall asleep. I read some throughout the day, but I love my devotional time in the evening listening to CDs. I have a lot, but it is not uncommon for me to listen to the same one for a month. I will love listening to it every time. When I get to where I don’t feel like I’m listening, I change it to another one for a while. I’ve been doing the Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Life Challenge for over 180 days, and it has been the best thing I have ever done. It started out as 30 day challenge, but I think I might be doing this one for the rest of my life. I still have difficult times, but I have come so far. That is what I try to measure my progress by and not by my bad days. It is a constant struggle. We can lift each other up and cheer each other on. xo
Hi Topaz! I have been struggling with negative thoughts lately, mostly because of being land-locked by my broken leg. I have been pretty successful at knocking away the negativity when it comes, but I could be faster at it, that’s for sure. I’ll catch myself thinking negatively, and then say “Oh no. Not you again! I know this isn’t real.”
It’s a challenge to see God in all things sometimes!
Blessings,
Ceil
Health challenges can be the worst, Ceil, especially when they go on for a long time. I will be so glad when this is behind you. It just gets so exhausting while we are in the middle going through it. Good for you catching those thoughts when you have them and stopping them. I think some days we all do better than others. I like that you mentioned something about being faster about it. That is a good goal for us all, to really nip those thoughts the moment we have them. Hope you heal quickly, my friend. xo
What a lovely post and such a critical reminder.
My thoughts are horrible– I am terrible at beating myself up. Fortunately this has improved some since I became a Christian 3 years ago– but I still need to be mindful of the old habit that drags me down.
Thanks for sharing.
xoxo
The deprogramming is quite the task, isn’t it, Jennifer? I’m so happy to hear that it has gotten easier after becoming a Christian. Even as Christians we must be mindful, as you mentioned, and take our thoughts captive. It is a daily choice, and it does get easier. Praise God. Thanks for sharing, Jennifer. xo
I don’t know why we allow these negative thoughts to consume us. We’re all guilty of it and as long as we’re mindful of it., We can change it. As soon as one comes to mind I try to immediately push it away by replacing it with 3 things I’m grateful to God for. One day in particular I was convinced that God had blessed the world with avocados simply so I could have guacamole! It made me laugh to be grateful for something so small, but every time I thank Him for something he gives me more to be thankful for! Even though we all go through periods of darkness, God is the light at the end of the tunnel showing us the way!
Donna! I’m so glad to see you here!
You know, that is a really good question. Why do we do that? Is it habit? Is it because we don’t understand how this works? I don’t know. You’re right. We’re all guilty of it. But the wonderful truth of it all is that we can choose different thoughts. We can choose better thoughts. Ha ha! Love your appreciation of the avocados. We take so much for granted. If we could just grasp the things we take for granted in a single day, it could be life changing. How many times a day do we use our hands? Or our legs? Those things are cause for a celebration all by themselves.
Thank you so much for sharing this, Donna. You are such a bright and beautiful light.