I think a lot.
We all do. We think because that’s how our brain and minds are created, and if you don’t have any thoughts than you are probably dead. We have to think. We need to think. And have you ever stopped and thought (haha) about how many thoughts go through your head in any given minute? According to the people who sit around and figure this stuff out, the average person thinks around forty eight thoughts per minute, which adds up to seventy thousand thoughts per day. Seventy thousand thoughts per day. That, my dears, is a whole lot of thoughts going on.
I used to try this thing when I was younger to see if it was possible to be awake and not think anything. Was it possible to just think nothing??? I would sit and try this, but the harder I tried, the more I thought about not thinking and thus the more I thought. It made my brain hurt and finally I concluded that it was virtually impossible for me to not think.
I daresay that thoughts are one of the single most powerful driving forces in our life.
I was getting ready for church last week, and this is when these thoughts about thoughts popped into my head. Because my thoughts at that moment were a wreck…as there I was standing in front of the mirror endlessly critiquing myself for the way I looked (or felt i looked) and the way my hair was so dorky and why in the world won’t this random rash underneath my eye go away and stop making me look so haggard and tired? All I could think was how big and large and horribly unattractive I looked, and not necessarily because I’m pregnant, but because that is my particular battleground in general. Those were my thoughts and they felt so endlessly true.
And then in the midst of it came this sweet word quietly rolling into the mess of my heart and if it is possible to change in an instant, I believe that I did.
As you think in your heart, so are you.
I was thinking all these negative things about myself, and what it was literally doing to my perception was making me all those things. Because I thought I was huge and unattractive, that’s what I saw in the mirror. My thoughts were completely screwing up my perception of reality.
I’m not some happy-go-lucky guru who thinks you just need to think happy thoughts and burn incense and drink herbal tea in organic linen clothes to have a great life and never experience any problems or issues…it’s not like that. But I am absolutely convinced that the thoughts I let into my head about myself or someone else or a situation directly influences my perception of what is real. If I think negatively about myself, whether it’s about my body or my personality or whatever, I truly do become that in my mind. Thoughts obviously can’t change what really is true about me…but they change what I believe is true about me.
If I think I’m fat, I see fat.
If I think I’m ugly, I see ugly.
If I think I am dull and stupid, I will see dull and stupid.
But if I think that I am marvelously created, I will see a marvelous creation.
If I think I’m beautiful, I will see beautiful.
If I think that I have a life that has value and much to offer, I am able to engage my world and care for people in ways I never thought possible.
My thoughts are powerful. So what am I thinking?
What about you: how do you find your thoughts influencing your feelings and perceptions about yourself? How do you take control of them?
I’d love to hear your thoughts!
I'm reading “The Supernatural Ways of Royalty” by Kris Valloton, and this post reminded me of what I read just last night. He was using the illustration of Jacob working for Laban and agreeing to be paid with the speckled offspring of sheep and goats. Jacob exposed the white underneath the bark of branches and put them by the watering trough where the flocks would drink and mate. Amazingly, Jacob became rich because the flocks reproduced so many speckled babies. Weirdest story in the Bible I'm pretty sure, but Kris used it to illustrate how we (God's sheep) reproduce. The watering hole signifies our reflection/meditation. Basically, we reproduce and become like what we we entertain in our imagination/mind. The word meditation is related to the word health. In a positive sense, meditation means 'to think in such a way as to make oneself healthy.'
“We become the person He has called us to be when we mediate on the things of God and dream His dreams.”
“When we dream with God, we become the masterpiece of His imagination.”
I LOVE that. 🙂
Great post and something I need to remember especially right now as my self confidence is at an all time low. Being pregnant has a way of making you feel like someone you aren't(or making you forget who you really are), but this is a great perspective to have! Thanks for the reminder.
I love these thoughts + quotes, Brenda! Thanks for sharing.
I hear ya, woman! I have found that being pregnant can make me feel both so beautiful + so very unattractive, sometimes even in the SAME day. These little ones are worth whatever negative emotions we have to wade through tho. I think you look GORGEOUS, by the way!
Ha , well thanks as I truly do not feel it right now. And it's funny that you say this happened on Sunday, cuz I thought you looked amazing. Maybe we should start a make pregnant women feel better about themselves club, whadya think? 🙂 Yes, they are so very worth it; you will love being a mama!
Aww, Alicia. Thanks for this so much. I've had so many negative thoughts about myself recently, and it's so helpful to realize they aren't all true. Your site blesses me so much.
What a sweet comment! Thanks for reading.
The battle field in my mind has always been the bloodiest for me! I'd rather face flesh and blood any day. But there truly is victory to be found in “renewing our mind” and setting our thoughts on the things of Christ. It's by far, the hardest thing I've had to do yet. And I've given birth naturally, twice. 😉 You can do it girl!!
So true:: it's all about renewing the mind and taking all those negative thoughts captive. Always easier said than done, but the effort put into this battle is worth every ounce of blood and tears. You're always full of encouragement + sweet thoughts!
true words and the battle against thinking negatively especially about ourselves is so hard. Why is it often I tend to coat my negative thoughts as “thinking humbly about myself”? Christ has made me alive and beautiful in Him and there are so many amazing things that he has made us to be! My husband is such a dear and been working on this alot with me. What we believe as truth, we will live as truth. And so often I believe lies are truth and live that way! Thank you for sharing!
You are spot on with this: what we believe as truth, we live as truth. YES! And I agree with you that it is so super easy to coat the lies with the “think humbly” thing. It's totally possible to be humble AND live in the beautiful + alive identity that Jesus gives us. Thanks for sharing, Charis!